Who is Luke Wood? Taking a closer look at Mumbai Indians' latest recruit

On Monday, March 18, Mumbai Indians (MI) announced Luke Wood as Jason Behrendorff's replacement for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

Behrendorff suffered a fractured left fibula while preparing for IPL 2024 with the Mumbai Indians. The devastating injury ruled him out of action for eight weeks. The Hardik Pandya-led side decided to bring in another left-arm seamer, Wood, as Behrendorff's replacement.

Wood, 28, made his international debut in September 2022 against Pakistan in a T20I in Karachi. He has played five T20Is and a couple of ODIs so far. In his five appearances in the shortest format of the game, Wood has bagged eight wickets at an average of 21.75 and a strike rate of 13.50. His last international appearance came in September 2023 against Ireland.

The Sheffield-born has been a part of some renowned teams across the various T20 leagues around the world. He has represented teams like Melbourne Stars, Sylhet Strikers, Khulna Tigers, Quetta Gladiators, and Peshawar Zalmi among others. He recently picked up 12 wickets in 11 matches for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024 at an average of 29.08 and helped the Babar Azam-led side get to Eliminator 2 where they lost to eventual champions Islamabad United.

Also Read: Jason Behrendorff races to recover from broken leg for ICC Men's T20 World Cup

A closer look at Luke Wood's T20 numbers

Wood has the experience of playing 140 T20 matches in his career. He has picked up 147 wickets at an average of 25.87 and a strike rate of 18.30. Wood also has one five-for in the T20 format and his economy rate is 8.45.

Wood is also a decent batter, having two first-class centuries under his belt and averaging 25.45. In T20 cricket, he might not have set the stage on fire with the bat but he has made some useful contributions down the order. In 57 T20 innings, Wood has scored 321 runs at an average of 10.03 and a strike rate of 111.07. He has a highest T20 score of 33 not out.

The speedster is in decent form and will be raring to go if he gets his opportunity to play for the five-time IPL champions in the 17th edition of the cash-rich league.

Also Read: 'He will always have a hand on my shoulder' - Hardik Pandya on relationship with Rohit Sharma