Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mark Boucher on Saturday (May 27) said the franchise will look for a replacement of front-line bowlers from the next IPL season if they are not fit within time.

The Rohit Sharma-led side managed to reach playoffs this season despite missing key pacers like Jasprit Bumrah, Jofra Archer and Jhye Richardson.

MI’s batting unit carried them until Qualifier 2, wherein they suffered a huge defeat at the hands of Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad.

While Bumrah was ruled out for the entire season due to stress fracture in his lower back followed by a surgery, Richardson sustained a hamstring injury and couldn’t travel to India for the IPL 2023 season.

On the other hand, Archer played only five matches before returning home, owing to a recurring elbow injury. The England speedster claimed only two scalps at 95.

“There are so many things that we can talk about, but for me, to open up a can of worms now, would be stupid,” Boucher told the media when asked about his assessment of MI’s season with the ball.

“I think it’s time to just sit back, reflect a bit, take the emotion out of it and make some good, sound cricketing decisions once everything is calmed down and once we understand the future of certain individuals and where they are from a fitness perspective,” he added.

“You lose two of your stars in the bowling line-up, it’s going to create a couple of holes and we tried to fix it up as best as possible. Hopefully the guys can get over the injuries. If they can’t, then we’ve got to look other places,” he further stated.

Boucher said it was ‘difficult’ for Mumbai Indians without both Bumrah and Archer.

“You can look at Bumrah not being available, Jofra not being available, they are quality players. If you are losing out on your quality players, yes it’s going to leave a hole. Not to put any blame on anyone, those things happen in sports, injuries happen in sports and you’ve got to deal with it,” he said.

(With PTI Inputs)