IPL 2024: Mumbai Indians To Miss Suryakumar Yadav For Few More Matches – BCCI Source
New Delhi: Mumbai Indians aren’t getting the services of Suryakumar Yadav for atleast a week more as the world’s no. 1 T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav continues to recover from sports hernia at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Yadav, who last played for India during their tour of South Africa, suffered the injury during the third T20I, and has been out of action since then. He also missed the home T20I series against Afghanistan and was also not available for selection for the England Tests.
In the absence of Suryakumar, Mumbai Indians have been playing Naman Dhir at No.4 in IPL 2024 so far. Although the youngster looked solid with bat during his brief stays in both the games, the five-time champions missed Suryakumar dearly.
“Surya is making very good progress and very soon he will be back playing for MI. However, he might have to sit out for a few more games, having missed the first two,” a BCCI source said. While Mumbai Indians are missing the India star, the BCCI doesn’t want to take any chances with the big-hitter’s fitness as he is expected to play a huge role in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.
“For BCCI, the main concern is if he is on course for World T20 which he is. Obviously he will play for MI but after a sports hernia surgery, he can’t be rushed,” the source said. The 33-year-old often draws comparisons with retired South African superstar AB de Villiers for his range of shots. He has a superb strike rate of 171.55 in the format.
Suryakumar appeared in 60 T20 Internationals for India and has 2141 runs, including four hundreds. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians have lost both their games in IPL 2024 so far. While they were handed an opening defeat to Gujarat Titans, the Hardik Pandya-led side fell 31 runs short against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday which turned into a run-fest at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Mumbai Indians will take on Rajasthan Royals in their third game, the first at home at the Wankhede Stadium, on Monday.