South African off-spinner Keshav Maharaj has been signed as a replacement by the Mumbai Indians after the New Zealand all-rounder injured his shoulder on Thursday, the 23rd of April, while attempting a catch against Chennai Super Kings at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

 When the Mumbai Indians came out to chase, the 34-year-old was seen applying an Ice pack on his shoulder. Santner claimed 5 wickets in 4 IPL games this season with an economy rate of 8.92. Santner felt discomfort in his right shoulder against the Delhi Capitals on the 4th of April, due to which he couldn’t play against RR on the 7th of April, but he played against RCB and GT on the 12th of April and the 20th of April, respectively.

MI will miss Santner, but Maharaj’s inclusion will add another element of experience in the squad. Maharaj has played only two IPL games so far in his career, representing RR in 2024. Maharaj has played in 54 T20Is for South Africa so far.

 Overall, the 36-year-old has claimed 191 wickets in 208 T20 innings in his T20 career. He has played in various franchise leagues, including CPL, BPL, the Vitality Blast, and the SA20. He represented Pretoria Capitals in SA20. He also represented Durban Heat in the South African Mzansi Super League. Keshav Maharaj’s addition will boost the spin department.

Mayank Markande, Raghu Sharma, Allah Ghazanfar and all-rounder Will Jacks are other spin options for the Mumbai Indians, but Maharaj’s experience of playing in different situations will help the other spinners in the MI camp.

 MI are currently at the 9th position in the points table with just 4 points as they have won just 2 matches out of the 7 games they have played so far in the season. The team management needs to get the team combination right to get the desired results and to make it to the playoffs.