Lasith Malinga will not be available for IPL 2020 in the UAE.
The defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) were dealt with a blow after their veteran speedster Lasith Malinga deemed himself unavailable for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. He has been the most successful IPL bowler with 170 wickets to his name and that is a huge blow to the Mumbai-based franchise. However, former Australian cricketer Brett Lee feels that Jasprit Bumrah is ready to do Malinga's role for the side in IPL 13.
Bumrah has been playing with Malinga for the Mumbai Indians since 2013 and has become excellent at execution of the yorker in the death overs. According to Lee, Bumrah can lead MI's bowling attack in the absence of the Sri Lankan pacer.
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Lee said on a Star Sports show, "I have always been a Bumrah fan ever since he burst into the scenes some years ago. He has got a different bowling action, he pushes the ball in and can swing the ball both ways."
"He is good with the new ball but I like him with the old ball and that's why he can fill the shoes of Malinga and can bowl at death overs. He can bowl at 140kmph and zoom the ball in at the batsman's feet. He is bowling yorkers consistently and there are very less bowlers like that, so he can fill those shoes," he added.
The 26-year-old pacer from Ahmedabad has picked 82 IPL wickets so far and has been extremely dependable for the Mumbai Indians. He will be live in action in the opening game of IPL 2020 against the Chennai Super Kings on 19 September.
(With inputs from IANS)