Mumbai Indians hero Surya gets ready for Delhi Capitals
Mumbai, April 5
In a big boost for the struggling Mumbai Indians, world No. 1 T20 batter Suryakumar Yadav trained with the team here today after a long injury layoff and unleashed his trademark shots without any visible discomfort, raising hopes that he could compete in the team’s next IPL match against Delhi Capitals.
The five-time champions are languishing at the bottom of the 10-team table, having lost all their three matches so far and if Suryakumar plays, the Hardik Pandya-led team will hope that his presence helps them with the anticipated turnaround.
The 33-year-old batter has been out of action since January. He underwent a surgery to treat sports hernia and was also nursing an ankle injury which he had sustained during India’s tour of South Africa late last year.
Suryakumar was the first to arrive for the training session at the Wankhede Stadium, more than an hour before his teammates came for the afternoon session.
He walked into one of the two nets and batted for more than an hour, not looking to exert himself but getting his body in rhythm and his strokes going a few days after he was given the clearance to join the MI’s squad by the National Cricket Academy.
The right-handed batter unleashed strokes to all parts of the ground while batting against throwdown specialists and MI spinner Kumar Kartikeya. He hit the ball exactly the way he wanted, middling most of his strokes and also practised his trademark flick shot over the fine-leg region.
The team is coming off a short break after taking a trip to Jamnagar following its third straight loss in the ongoing tournament, the last one being a six-wicket defeat to Rajasthan Royals on April 1.
