James Pattinson has been signed up by the Mumbai Indians to replace Lasith Malinga in the upcoming IPL 2020.
Lasith Malinga has opted himself out of IPL 2020 to be with his family who are in Sri Lanka. With that, his IPL franchise, Mumbai Indians, has decided to sign up Australian pacer James Pattinson as a replacement.
As per Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani, ‘James is the right fit for us and adds to our pace attack options available at hand especially for the conditions we will play in this season. Lasith is a legend and a pillar of MI's strength. There is no denying the fact that we will miss Lasith's cricketing acumen this season. However, we fully understand Lasith's need to be in Sri Lanka with his family during this time’.
Malinga, who had his debut on the league in 2009, used to be the leading wicket-taker in the IPL. Last year, his performance helped the team bag home the championship with a one-run win against the Chennai Super Kings.
Meanwhile, Pattinson has never played for an IPL match yet. With that, he will fly towards Abu Dhabi over the weekend to join the rest of the team. There, they will prepare for the 13th season of the IPL that will kick-off on September 19. To learn more about the IPL, head over to Betwala.
READ MORE: What is the Indian Premier League?
