There’s uncertainty surrounding Suryakumar Yadav’s participation in Mumbai Indians’ opening two matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL), set to commence on March 22.
The batsman is currently in recovery from a sports hernia and has not yet rejoined the Mumbai Indians squad. Although Mark Boucher, the head coach of Mumbai Indians, refrained from confirming Suryakumar’s availability, it is understood by The Hindu that Suryakumar is still undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
Mumbai Indians will kick off their campaign with away matches against Gujarat Titans on March 24 and Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 27. While the team remains hopeful that Suryakumar will join the squad ahead of their first home game on April 1, there is still uncertainty regarding his fitness clearance.
“Surya is currently under the guidance of the Indian cricket team as well. We are awaiting updates on that. I prefer not to micromanage,” said Boucher during the franchise’s pre-season media conference on Monday. “We have a world-class medical team overseeing all of that.”
“We’ve encountered a few fitness concerns, which is inevitable in professional sports. Like other teams, we trust our medical team to handle these issues appropriately. If we have to deal with a setback or two due to fitness, we accept it and focus on finding suitable replacements,” stated Boucher.
It is apparent that neither Suryakumar, sidelined since December, nor the BCCI medical team are inclined to rush his return, given his significance for India’s T20 World Cup campaign in June.
