Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra expects Suryakumar Yadav’s probable return to the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) squad and their fortunes in IPL 2024 as they will face the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in Sunday’s (April 7) first game.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “Mumbai have come home and they will start winning at some stage at least because the team is good. Suryakumar Yadav has returned. What’s the point if the black clouds are not removed after SKY comes back? The focus should foremost be on SKY because how can the focus not be on SKY.”

“He is an incredible player. The way MI batted in the last match against RR, although they batted well before that, you assume that Suryakumar Yadav will come and be their savior. The entire Mumbai is urging Surya to do it. So Surya bhau will be my first player to watch out for,” the former India opener again added.

However, Suryakumar has joined the Mumbai Indians camp before their clash against the Delhi Capitals. While he has started practising in the nets, it remains to be seen if he is fit enough to take the field on Sunday as well.

“My second player will be captain Hardik Pandya one more time for a very simple reason that he will be under pressure. You play eight Indians, including the Impact Player, and seven of them are capped Indians. If you are not able to win with them, you will have to now go really deep that where are you making mistakes,” he added.

“As Sanju (Samson) did yesterday, everything becomes alright if the captain fires. So I am expecting runs from the captain’s bat and good captaincy as well. I am also expecting him to use the bowlers well. So Hardik Pandya is my second player to watch out for,” Aakash Chopra concluded. “The third player is Jasprit Bumrah because he is an amazing bowler. The level of player he is, you will expect him to dismiss at least one of (David) Warner and Prithvi Shaw with the new ball and try to take either Mitchell Marsh or Rishabh Pant as well.”