MI will expect Suryakumar to ignite its campaign
It is no stranger to poor starts. But the Indian Premier League’s 17th edition has been stranger than ever before Mumbai Indians. 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 muchneeded fillip.
Suryakumar has been out of action for almost four months, having recovered from an ankle injury and sports hernia surgery. The 360degree batter rested from Saturday’s optional training session but sweetly timed the ball to all the corners of the Wankhede Stadium during his prolonged stint on Friday afternoon.
MI 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. MI will know time is running out for staying in contention for a place in the playoffs. Ditto is the case with Rishabh Pant’s Delhi Capitals, which is placed secondfrombottom – one place ahead of MI – in the points table.
Injury concerns
While MI camp has a reason to rejoice in Suryakumar’s availability, the Capitals are dealing with injury concerns to its three main bowlers.
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 DC’s last outing.
Will Pant revive Capitals’ campaign after being blown away by KKR? Or will Suryakumar turn the heat on? Over to Sunday afternoon!
Ganguly feels it is unfair on Hardik to be compared to Rohit so early in his captaincy stint.
Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain and BCCI chief, has stressed that Rishabh Pant is making a case to be picked for the T20 World Cup. Ganguly, the Delhi Capitals’ Director of Cricket, also backed Hardik Pandya amidst the Mumbai Indians captaincy row.
“I will let a few more matches go. He is doing very well, as you all must have seen, keeping, batting, so he has held up well,” Ganguly said at the Wankhede Stadium while addressing the prematch media interaction ahead of Sunday’s Indian Premier League tie.
“His form is fantastic, especially the way he has batted in the last two games.
“So let another week go, and I will be able to answer, provided the selectors want to pick him that is most important. He is fully
fit.” Making a comeback to competitive cricket after nearly 15 months after being involved in a car accident, Pant has tallied 152 runs in four innings, at a strike rate of 158+.
While the Capitals’ captain is in the headlines for the right reasons, his Mumbai Indians counterpart Hardik has been booed in all of MI’s three losses so far.
“I don’t think they should boo Hardik Pandya. The franchisee has appointed him as captain. That’s what happens in sport, whether you captain India or whether you captain your state or whether you captain your franchise, you are appointed as captain,” Ganguly said.
“Rohit Sharma is different class, his performance for his franchise and for India has been at a different level whether as captain or player.
“It is not Hardik’s fault he has been appointed captain.”