Watch: Mumbai Indians' Newest Recruit Nuwan Thushara's Toe-Crushing Yorkers Are Nightmare For Batters

Known for possessing a similar bowling action to that of legendary fast bowler Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Thushara was roped in by Mumbai Indians. Thushara was signed by the Mumbai-based franchise for Rs 4.8 crore at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction in Dubai on Tuesday.

Thushara recently represented Deccan Gladiators in the Abu Dhabi T10 and his performance in the competition enthralled fans. The official handle of the Abu Dhabi T10 shared a video of Thushara’s spectacular bowling in the tournament. “Nuwan Thushara bowling with a Boomerang. Could you play these deliveries from the Deccan Gladiators seamer,” read the caption of the post.

In the video, Nuwan Thushara can be seen producing some toe-crushing yorkers to dismiss the opposition batters.

A post shared by Abu Dhabi T10 (@t10league)

Nuwan Thushara’s power-packed bowling guided Deccan Gladiators to the final of the Abu Dhabi T10. In the summit clash, Thushara picked up one wicket conceding 23 runs in two overs. His performance went in vain as Deccan Gladiators had to concede a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of New York Strikers in that game.

In international cricket, Nuwan Thushara has so far represented Sri Lanka in five T20Is. The 29-year-old made his international debut against Australia in February last year. He has so far picked up six wickets in international cricket. In first-class cricket, Thushara has two wickets under his belt.

Nuwan Thushara is now set to represent Mumbai Indians in the next edition of the IPL. Thushara joins a Mumbai Indians side which has a strong bowling unit comprising some of the big names like Jasprit Bumrah, Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka and Jason Paul Behrendorff.

Mumbai Indians will be led by all-rounder Hardik Pandya in IPL 2024. Mahela Jayawardene, Mumbai Indians’ Global Head of Cricket, recently talked about Pandya’s leadership during a chat with JioCinema on the sidelines of the IPL 2024 auction.

“Hardik (Pandya) has been in the dressing room for quite some time, so that’s nothing new. We know what he brings in as an all-rounder. It will be something different with his experience of leading the team at Gujarat pretty well, so it is an opportunity to build on that,” Mahela Jayawardene said.

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians were eliminated from the second Qualifier in the last edition of the IPL.