Dubai, April 29 (agencies): Lendl Simmons, the West Indies batsman, has been added to Mumbai Indians' squad as a replacement for allrounder Jalaj Saxena, the IPL organisers announced on Tuesday. However, a reason for the decision was not given.
"The IPL Event Technical Committee has approved Lendl Simmons as a replacement player for Jalaj Saxena for the remainder of the Pepsi IPL 2014 season. Simmons is eligible to play for Mumbai Indians with immediate effect," said the IPL in a release.
Saxena, who plays for Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket, was purchased by Mumbai Indians for Rs 90 lakh at February's player auction. He has not played a single of the team's four consecutive losses in the UAE.
Simmons, 29, has yet to play an IPL game. A top-order batsman, he has represented West Indies in eight Tests, 58 ODIs and 30 Twenty20 internationals. Overall across 93 Twenty20 matches, Simmons averages 25.97 with 14 half-centuries.
The defending champions play their last game of the tournament's UAE leg on Wednesday against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Their batting, in particular, has been a big disappointment considering it was so crucial to winning the IPL and Champions League titles in 2013. Their two big overseas retained players, Michael Hussey and Kieron Pollard, have been disappointing while captain Rohit Sharma too has underachieved so far.
