Defending champion Mumbai Indians will get their IPL 13 campaign underway against Chennai Super Kings at the Syed Shiekh Stadium in Abu Dhabi later in the evening. The blockbuster clash which also serves as the tournament opener is set to commence at 7:30 pm (IST).


The 4-times champions seem to have roped in Windies seam bolwer Alzarri Joseph ahead of their opening encounter against fierce rivals Chennai Super Kings in 13th season of the league.

While the franchise did not make any official announcement about this development, the Windies speedster was spotted in a net's session when opener Chris Lynn posted a video of his interview on social media.


While CSK would be without the services of their star campaigners Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh in the upcoming season, MI were also served a major blow with their pace spearhead Lasith Malinga pulling out of the tournament.

MI already signed Australian seam bowler James Pattinson as Malinga's replacement but with Joseph doing the rounds in the practice sessions, there could be yet another injury concern in their camp.

It is notable that Joesph had hogged the limelight on his IPL debut when he produced a fiery spell of fast bowling to return with record breaking figures of 6/12. Unfortunately, the speedster was ruled out after three matches due to a shoulder injury.

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Joseph was very much a part of the Mumbai Indians franchise and the team management took great care of him during the recovery process. However, the fast bowler was released by MI and went unsold in the auction. Joseph's presence in the camp hints that he is in the scheme of things and might join MI.

Joseph represented St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020 in Trinidad and Tobago. The right-arm pacer has 27 wickets in 26 T20s he has played so far.