On April 9, the Mumbai Indians will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the season’s first match, but the defending champions will be without one of their main overseas players.

The MI reported on Friday that their South African Quinton de Kock wicket-keeper won’t play with the RCB. He was not in India at the beginning of this week, even though this was a transition from the bubble to bubbles.

De Kock is reportedly facing a seven-day mandatory quarantine, according to the MI.

For at least two years, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock have been the favored opening pair. After finishing national duties, the latter exits the MI camp and must endure a mandatory 7-day quarantine. As a result, the Men in Blue and Gold will start the game with a new pair “On their official website, the MI wrote in a preview for the match.

Chris Lynn may also replace De Kock in the starting XI, according to the franchise. “Chris Lynn, who had an unforgiving streak in the Big Bash League,” the preview continued, “could be a perfect backup choice.

Quinton De Kock had a very successful IPL season last year in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and was instrumental in Mumbai’s victory. In the 13th edition of the IPL, the left-handed batsman scored 503 runs at an average of 35.92 and a strike rate of 140.50. De Kock has also amassed dazzling statistics throughout his IPL career.

In 66 IPL matches, the 28-year-old has scored 1959 runs at a healthy average of 31.60. De Kock is explosive at the top, as shown by his strike rate of over 130 in the IPL.

The Mumbai team has a better Head-to-Head record than the Bangalore team headed by Virat Kohli. The Mumbai Indians have won 17 of the 27 matches between these two teams in the Indian Premier League. The Mumbai Indians also have a number of match-winners in their lineup, with players like Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, and Hardik Pandya capable of turning the game around.