Mumbai Indians received a huge blow ahead of their IPL 2019 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday in the form of New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne, who decided to pull out of the tournament at the last moment.


Milne, who was bought for INR 75 Lakhs, apparently has a heel injury that is set to keep him away for a few weeks. Although there was no official confirmation, Mumbai Indians is reportedly keen on roping in West Indian fast bowler Alzarri Joseph as a replacement of Milne. Joseph went unsold in the auctions and is also the only overseas fast bowler under the 75 lakh bracket. According to IPL rules, the amount a franchise can pay the replacement player cannot exceed that paid to the original player.


Joseph was in stellar form in the England series. After troubling them with the ball in the Test matches, he also took a five-wicket haul at Kennington Oval in London.


"We were waiting for his (Milne's) fitness report. He had an injury four weeks back while playing a game, so we needed to wait for his recovery and his progress," said Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardena.


"We had a report two days back saying that he is not 100 per cent (fit) and he might not be able to be part of the extended IPL, so we have realised that we need a replacement. We are considering that. But we have got enough resources (for now)," added the former Sri Lanka captain.


Milne’s injury comes a day after Lasith Malinga opted to skip the first six matches of IPL 2019 due to his commitment with the Sri Lankan team which is currently engaged in a bilateral Twenty20 series in South Africa.


Jayawardena hinted that during the time of IPL auction, the MI management was not aware of a scheduled domestic T20 tournament (April 4-11) which has been made mandatory for all Lanka players to figure in to be eligible for selection for the World Cup.


"The report (in the media) was last night, so we need to gather (our) thoughts and see. If you read the entire thing, the tournament (in Sri Lanka) is for four or five days in April. When we got into the auction, Sri Lanka cricket gave us his availability schedule and that tournament wasn't a part of that.


So there is a conversation to be made and once we get through that conversation we will let you know what exactly is happening. But it is way too early for us to comment on that saying he is going to available or whatever,” he remarked.