IPL 2016: Mumbai Indians Suffer Lendl Simmons Blow, Martin Guptill Comes as Replacement

Mumbai Indians' Indian Premier League 2016 campaign has been dealt another body blow. They will miss their top batsman Lendl Simmons, who has quit IPL due to a back injury. New Zealand opener Martin Guptill will replace the West Indian batsman.

Mumbai Indians are already missing their Sri Lankan pace spearhead Lasith Malinga due to injury. Malinga is unlikely to get clearance from Sri Lankan Cricket Board this time.

West Indian Simmons made headlines last month when he smashed a 51-ball 82 to knock India out in a semifinal match of the ICC World Twenty20. Simmons had come in as a replacement for the injured Andre Fletcher and made an immediate impact on the World Cup.

Simmons played Mumbai Indians' first match against Rising Pune Supergiants at the Wankhede Stadium on April 9. He scored 8. Simmons' back injury surfaced after the game and he was left out from the Mumbai playing XI against Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata on Wednesday. Mumbai beat KKR by six wickets.

Simmons was one of the top scorers of IPL 2015. He had scored 540 runs in 13 matches with a stunning strike-rate of 122.41. He scored six fifties.

Guptill is a good replacement. The hard-hitting Kiwi opener was unsold during the IPL 2016 auction in February. He had a base price of Rs 50 lakh.

Guptill, a superb fielder, was the highest scorer in the 2015 World Cup (50 over) with 547 runs in nine matches. This included a mind-boggling 237 against the West Indies in the quarterfinals. Guptill has played in the Caribbean T20 League.