- Thursday, May 09, 2024
The 33-year-old hard-hitter has been out of cricket since India’s tour of South Africa in December 2023.
By: Shubham Ghosh
ACE Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav on Tuesday (19) came out with a cryptic image on his social media post that left fans of Mumbai Indians (MI), the franchise he represents in the Indian Premier League (IPL), worried. There have been reports that the hard-hitting batter, who has been out of cricket since December due to injuries and currently undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in the southern city of Bengaluru, may miss the opening two matches of his team in the mega tournament kicking off on Friday (22).
The 33-year-old cricketer posted a ‘broken heart’ emoji in his Instagram account on Tuesday and that left the fans wondering whether there is a substance of truth in the reports of Yadav missing the initial games.
Yadav, who last played in a match in December and hit a century in that T20 game against South Africa on their soil as the captain of the national side, is yet to get a fitness clearance from the NCA. He underwent a groin injury in February. It is the second surgery he had in recent months following a procedure in his ankle.
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“I want to thank everyone for their concerns and well wishes for my health, and I am happy to tell you all that I will be back very soon,” he said in a post on X after the surgery.
When asked about Yadav’s condition at a pre-season press conference, MI head coach Mark Boucher said the team management is currently awaiting for updates from the Indian cricket board.
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“We are awaiting updates on Suryakumar from the BCCI. We have always been under a cloud of fitness issues but we have a world-class medical team. We may lose one or two in terms of fitness but we have to move on as is sport,” Boucher said.
Yadav, who has been playing in the IPL since 2012, has appeared in 139 matches so far in which he has made 3,249 runs at a strike rate of more than 143.
Mumbai will play Gujarat Titans in their first game of the 2024 season in Ahmedabad on Sunday (24) and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on Wednesday (27).
Mumbai, who have lifted the IPL crown five times, will be led by Hardik Pandya this year.
