The Mumbai Indians is not a stranger to poor starts. But the Indian Premier League’s (IPL’s) 17th edition has been stranger than ever before. Amidst all the uproar over the change in captaincy, it will be banking on Suryakumar Yadav to mark his arrival in style against Delhi Capitals on Sunday and give MI the much-needed fillip.
Suryakumar has been out of action for almost four months, having recovered from an ankle injury and sports hernia surgery. The 360-degree batter rested from Saturday’s optional training session but timed the ball sweetly to all the corners of the Wankhede Stadium during his prolonged stint on Friday afternoon.
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Mumbai Indians management – facing flak for its alleged mishandling of captaincy transition from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya – will be hoping for Suryakumar to ignite its campaign after the team’s three consecutive losses so far in the tournament.
Having lost three or more games on four occasions in the past – five in 2014, four each in 2008 and 2018 and three in 2018 – MI will know the time is running out to stay in contention for a place in the Playoffs.
It is a similar scenario for Rishabh Pant’s Delhi Capitals, which is placed second-from-bottom – one place ahead of MI – in the points table. While MI camp has a reason to rejoice in Suryakumar’s availability, the Capitals are dealing with injury concerns to its three main bowlers.
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Kuldeep Yadav is unlikely to be available due to a groin injury, while Mukesh Kumar underwent a prolonged fitness test after missing the last game. To add to its woes, allrounder Mitchell Marsh will be unavailable for Sunday’s game after hurting himself in the Capitals’ last outing.
Will Pant revive the Capitals’ campaign after being blown away by KKR? Or will Suryakumar turn the heat on? Over to Sunday afternoon!
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