With the commencement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 being hardly 10 days away, the five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) have suffered a bitter blow in the form of injury to Suryakumar Yadav. The middle-order batter is unlikely to be fit in time for the franchise’s opening fixture of the tournament against Delhi Capitals (DC) on March 27. He is yet to fully recover from a hairline fracture on his thumb.

As per the reports in PTI, one of the senior BCCI officials said, “Surya is currently at the NCA doing his rehabilitation. He is well on his way to recovery but there is a possibility that his participation in the opening game will be a real touch-and-go affair. So there could be a possibility that he might be advised by the board’s medical team to not risk playing the opener.”

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Suryakumar Yadav has been one of Mumbai Indians’ pillars over the last four years. In fact, the franchise decided to make him their third retention before the IPL 2022 auction, ahead of Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan. Though MI bought back Kishan in the auction, Hardik was roped in by Gujarat Titans as the franchise’s skipper.

Being without Suryakumar Yadav even for a single game is a hassle for Mumbai considering they don’t have equally skilled batters who could be relied upon in the previous seasons.

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As per the BCCI source of PTI, Suryakumar Yadav is expected to be fit in time for Mumbai’s second game. The source explained, “I think by the second MI game, he would be 100 per cent match fit. It is likely to be more of a precautionary measure if he doesn’t play the first game.”