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New Delhi: Injury-hit Mumbai Indians were given a life line by Champions Leauge Twenty20 organisers as they were allowed to field five overseas players instead of the regular four, provided those cricketers are contracted to play in the 2011 IPL.
The Mumbai outfit had lost the services of their captain Sachin Tendulkar along with seven others, leaving the team management in a quandary to field a team of seven fit Indian players.
Tendulkar, who has been suffering from a toe injury, has been replaced by Andrew Symonds.
Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Aditya Tare and Pawan Suyal have been ruled out of the tournament and in their places Mumbai have nominated Symonds, Dilhara Fernando, R Sathish, Sarul Kanwar and Abu Nechim Ahmed.
"In the current circumstances, if the Mumbai Indians suffer one more injury to an Indian player, they will be unable to field a team due to CLT20 rules restricting teams to a maximum of four overseas players in any one match," a CLT20 media release said here on Thursday.
"As a result, the CLT20 Governing Council has approved a recommendation by the Technical Committee to ensure the Mumbai Indians will be permitted to select up to five overseas players in any one team, provided those players were contracted to play in the 2011 IPL.
"This was considered the most appropriate solution to respect player safety and ensure no one plays for a CLT20 team unless he played for or was contracted to play for, that team in the qualifying event," it added.
The release also added that the present ruling will be applicable ti any other team only if they suffer injuries like Mumbai Indians have suffered.
The current MI squad of 14 players can be increased by just one from their remaining injury-free contract list.
Mumbai will open their CLT20 campaign against defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on September 24.
Squad: Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Andrew Symonds, James Franklin, Aiden Blizzard, Davy Jacobs, Kieron Pollard, Dilhara Fernando, R Sathish, Ambati Rayudu, Tirumalasetti Suman, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sarul Kanwar and Abu Nechim Ahmed.
Posted in Labels: IPL league, Sachin Tendulkar
