Ahead of IPL 2024, Mohsin Khan’s return from injury was met with as much uncertainty as anticipation. Any doubts, however, have been swiftly dispelled as the left-arm pacer stormed back into the spotlight by picking up crucial wickets for us this season.

Against CSK, Mohsin castled Rachin Ravindra on his first ball to give us an early opening. His 2/29 stifled KKR’s brisk start as he removed Sunil Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi from the equation. Against PBKS, Mohsin dismissed a well-set Shikhar Dhawan on 70 before sending back Sam Curran on the first ball.

While Mohsin has hit the ground running in IPL 2024, it wasn’t long ago when he wondered if he could ever bowl again due to a career-threatening shoulder injury.

"It was a very tough time and I had given up hope of playing cricket at one point because I was not able to even lift my hand, forget bowling," Mohsin, who underwent surgery to remove blood clots in his shoulder in 2022, said during a press conference last year. "I was not able to straighten my hand, the doctor had said if I was late by another month they would have had to amputate my hand.”

Who is Mohsin Khan?

Born on July 15, 1998, in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, Mohsin made his cricket debut for his home state in the 2017-18 Vijay Hazare Trophy and was part of the Mumbai Indians set-up in his early days of the IPL since 2018. 

However, Mohsin spent four years with MI without getting a single game. He joined us ahead of IPL 2022 and left batters bamboozled with his skillful variations and consistency in his debut season.

The left-arm pacer stepped up whenever skipper KL Rahul asked him to deliver. He bowled the tough overs in the powerplay and the death and clinched 14 wickets from the nine IPL games he played in 2022.

All those wickets came at an economy of under six runs per over. His IPL best of 4/16 remains one of the top bowling performances by LSG bowlers in the IPL. 

But just as his career was ascending to new heights, a serious shoulder injury sidelined Mohsin for the 2022-23 domestic season and he missed the majority of the IPL 2023 as well. The injury was so severe that he faced the grim possibility of losing his cricketing arm altogether.

However, by making an impressive comeback this season, Mohsin has proved that with proper support, discipline, patience and care, any hurdle, no matter how big, can be overcome.

His bowling in the first few matches in IPL 2024 even left Indian great Navjot Singh Sidhu impressed.

“His seam position is perfect. Mayank Yadav and Khaleel Ahmed are also bowling well but Mohsin is number one. India needs bowlers like him to win games. The selectors should pay attention to the youngster like him,” Navjot Singh Sidhu said.

Looking ahead, Mohsin’s career is poised for further success, with his natural talent and mental fortitude. Here’s hoping the best for Mohsin for the rest of this season.

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