KOLKATA, India (CMC) — West Indies Twenty20 World Cup star, Lendl Simmons, has been ruled out of the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after ju
st one game for reigning champions Mumbai Indians.
The opener has suffered a lower back injury, similar to the one which forced him to initially withdraw from the West Indies squad for the recent World Cup which concluded here two weeks ago.
The opener has suffered a lower back injury, similar to the one which forced him to initially withdraw from the West Indies squad for the recent World Cup which concluded here two weeks ago.
Simmons made a quick recovery and was called up for the semi-final following injury to Andre Fletcher, and it was his superb, unbeaten 82 against India which put the Caribbean side in the final.
Simmons played in the IPL tournament opener against Rising Pune Supergiants last Saturday, making just eight in an emphatic nine-wicket defeat in Mumbai.
However, he was left out of Wednesday’s game against Kolkata Knight Riders here, which Mumbai won by six wickets.
Simmons will be replaced by New Zealander Martin Guptill who went unsold during last February’s draft.
The 31-year-old Simmons has been one of the most successful batsmen in the IPL, in his relatively short stint in the cash-rich T20 league.
He has garnered 942 runs in 22 matches at an average of 47 — with one century and nine half-centuries.
The Trinidadian is one of the most sought-after T20 players on the global circuit and is coming off stints in the Australian Big Bash and the Pakistan Super League.