The Mumbai Indians have signed wicketkeeper-batsman Harvik Desai as a replacement for Vishnu Vinod, who was ruled out of the remainder of the IPL 2024 season with a forearm injury.
The IPL confirmed the development on its website (IPLT20.com) on Thursday. "Wicketkeeper-batsman Vishnu Vinod has been ruled out of the remainder of the TATA IPL 2024 due to a forearm injury," the IPL statement said. "The Mumbai Indians have signed Saurashtra wicketkeeper-batsman Harvik Desai as a replacement."
According to media reports, Desai is expected to join the MI camp after their fifth league-stage match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, Both teams are searching for just their second win of the season. RCB won their last game on March 25 against the Punjab Kings, while MI is coming off a 29-run victory over the Delhi Capitals.
Vinod, who represents Kerala in domestic cricket, was purchased by MI at his base price of 20 lakh rupees during last year's auction in Dubai. Desai was acquired for the same amount. Both players are key figures for their domestic teams. They played the full domestic season last year and were part of the Mumbai team that won the 2024 Ranji Trophy.
Desai, 24, has more experience in first-class cricket than Vinod, 30. However, Vinod has prior IPL experience. He played three games for Royal Challengers Bangaluru in 2017, scoring 19 runs, and three games for Mumbai Indians last year, scoring 37 runs. Vinod's record in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) is impressive. He has scored 1,591 runs at a strike rate exceeding 140 with a best of 109* for Kerala in over 60 matches.
Desai, a prominent figure in Saurashtra's domestic circuit, has played more Ranji Trophy matches than Vinod. However, his experience in List A and T20 cricket is limited. He has scored 691 runs at a strike rate of 134.17 in 27 SMAT matches, with a best of 104*. Desai was part of the Saurashtra teams that won the Ranji Trophy in 2020 and 2023. It remains to be seen how this change will affect MI's performance.
