Mumbai Indians sign Jerome Taylor as Malinga’s replacement

“Mumbai Indians have called up West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor to replace the injured Sri Lankan paceman Lasith Malinga for the remainder of the IPL 2016. Taylor will be available for selection for MI subject to the completion of contractual paperwork formalities,” the BCCI said in a press release.

Jerome Taylor will boost up the reigning champions’ already strong-looking fast bowling line-up, which includes Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah, Tim Southee, R Vinay Kumar and Nathu Singh. Taylor has previously played for Kings XI Punjab and the now defunct Pune Warriors India in the IPL in the past.

In the ongoing season, Mumbai Indians have won three of their seven matches, and are currently fifth in the table. The defending champions will face Kolkata Knight Riders in their next match at the Wankhede on April 28.

Malinga’s last match was in February against UAE in the Asia Cup, where he picked four wickets for 24 runs. The pacer missed the rest of the matches in the Asia Cup and stepped down as captain after the debacle, and also pulled out of the World T20 after failing to recover from the injury in time. Although Malinga joined the Mumbai Indians squad in the second week of the IPL, Mumbai Indians’ medical team deemed him unfit for four months.