Mumbai call for flexibility with fit and ready Suryakumar Yadav

Franchise’s prolific run-scorer set to return following a recovery from a wrist injury

Suryakumar was at the NCA for rehabilitation for over three weeks in the lead up to the IPL, and is now set to return to action for the first time in over a month.

“Yes, he is [available],” Mumbai’s director of cricket operations Zaheer said on Friday. “He has been practicing, so that [him playing] is something which we are all eagerly waiting for.”

Next is the question of where he would bat. For India, Suryakumar has most played at No. 5 or No. 6, where he has been one of the designated finishers. At Mumbai, though, he has been a phenomenon at No. 3 since 2018. 

In this four-year period, he has amassed 1733 runs for them at a strike rate of 137. Out of his 58 innings since, 39 have come at No. 3, where he has hit seven of his 12 half-centuries. Will that mean he continues to play a similar role?

“There is a possibility depending on the opposition we are playing and the conditions we are playing in,” Zaheer said on the prospect of Suryakumar being a finisher, like he is with the Indian team. “We might opt for those kind of options, but at the end the decision is pretty much [to] stick with whatever has been working for us and whatever a player can bring in in terms of maximum impact.”

“To have that kind of a flexibility is always an advantage,” Zaheer added. “Tactically you will have that advantage, and that’s how we are also looking at it.”
Meanwhile, Mumbai’s wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan too was given the go ahead to take the field against Royals after he was struck on his toe by a Shardul Thakur yorker on Sunday. Kishan was thus forced to go for a scan when Mumbai took the field to defend their total, with Aryan Juyal taking over the gloves. It was only after nine overs that he returned to keep wicket.

“He is absolutely fine,” Zaheer said. “We’ve taken the necessary actions, [it was] just on the precautionary side whatever was required. He has been practicing and training regularly. We had a gap in between, so that obviously helped him as well to prepare for this game. He’s fully fit and available.”