The most successfull side in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians, have announced the signing Australian fast bowler Riley Meredith as a replacement for injured Jhye Richardson. The Blue and Gold Bridge have roped Meredith in for INR 1.5 Crore.
This isn't Meredith's first stint with the MI as he was part of the setup last year as well when the franchise had failed to deliver as per expectations and finished last on the 10-team league table. He had been bought for his base price of INR 1 crore before the last season and ended up playing eight matches where he scalped eight wickets. He conceded runs at an economy of 8.42 and didn't impress the management enough to retain him before the auctions this year.
Before MI, Meredith had also played for Punjab Kings in the past, donning their colours in IPL 2021. He has been in reasonable good form and was among the leading wicket-takers in the most recent edition of the BBL where he took 21 wickets in 14 matches.
Overall, he has played 77 T20s and picked up 100 wickets. However, his career economy has also been over 8.
It is being learnt that the franchise was also keen on including Sri Lanka's Dushmantha Chameera as a replacement but that deal did not materalise, as claimed in an ESPNCricinfo report.
The team has got off to a losing start this year, much like they have each year after IPL 2012. They succumbed to a defeat at the hands of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their opener and will now take on Chennai Super Kings in what will be a blockbuster of a game at the Wankhede Stadium.
Both the teams have nine titles between them and their rivalry is often dubbed the El Clasico of the competition even though MI have a better record against the Men in Yello as far as head-to-head stats are concerned.