Morkel out of CLT20, Pollard named Mumbai skipper

India

The Kolkata Knight Riders have been dealt yet another blow ahead of their Champions League T20 campaign, with the news that fast bowler Morne Morkel is out with a shoulder injury.

The Kolkata Knight Riders have been dealt yet another blow ahead of their Champions League T20 campaign, with the news that fast bowler Morne Morkel is out with a shoulder injury.

Morkel was withdrawn from the tournament by Cricket South Africa, looking to ensure their player does no further damage to his rotator cuff as the national side builds up to the World Cup in six months. He has been replaced by Manvinder Bisla.

Venky Mysore, the KKR chief executive, said of the Proteas bowler: "He has had an ongoing problem. CSA informed BCCI that the injury was aggravated and was causing challenges with his ability throw. So he needed to be in the rehab for some time."

Morkel is the third KKR player to withdraw from the side than won the IPL this year. Australia's Chris Lynn had to withdraw due to injury, while Bangladesh all-rounder shakib-al-Hasan was not given permission to play by his home board due to disciplinary issues.

Elsewhere, Mumbai will be without batsman Rohit Sharma, as he failed to recover from the broken finger he picked up during the ODI series in England recently. This mean the defending champions had to find a new skipper.

They named West Indian Kieron Pollard as the skipper on Thursday, with Mumbai coach ANil Kumble saying: "I am confident that Kieron with his varied experience and impressive track record, will rise to the occasion, and align the Mumbai Indians for a competitive performance."

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