New Zealand’s top order batsman Martin Guptill joined the defending champions Mumbai Indians squad. The 29-year-old batsman has come in as a replacement for the injured Lendl Simmons who sustained a lower back injury and has been advised extensive rehabilitation for 8 to 12 weeks which forces him out of IPL 2016.
Simmons’ injury is similar to the one that forced him to withdraw from the first stage of the World T20 last month. He was a crucial part of the MI squad scoring 540 runs in 13 innings on the road to victory in IPL 2015.

For Martin, ranked third in the ICC Twenty20 batting ranking, Mumbai Indians becomes his first IPL team after remaining unsold for two auctions. His inclusion means that MI will have in their ranks one of the world’s most dangerous T20 and ODI batsman.
Guptill had recently played in India in the ICC World T20, where he excelled with an average of 35 and a strike rate of 150+.

Coming into the tournament in the initial stage will be a big lift for Guptill as well as MI. Going by history, Lendl Simmons replaced Aaron Finch in the squad last year which resulted in a trophy-winning season. Here’s hoping for a similar silver lining this season.