The arrival of Surya Kumar Yadav back into the Mumbai Indians (MI) setup will bring an air of positivity and hope into the sinking ship of the 5-time champions. Mumbai Indians are presently rooted to the bottom of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 points table with 3 losses in 3 games.
Surya Kumar Yadav missed out on competitive cricketing action for 3 months after he underwent an ankle surgery and a surgery for sports hernia. He had last appeared in a T20I game against South Africa in the beginning of 2024, where he smashed a glorious hundred in just 56 deliveries.
Yadav missed out on the first few matches of Mumbai Indians and has now finally received the approval of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to participate in the IPL after he cleared the fitness assessment test in Bengaluru.
In this article, we take a look at 3 reasons why Surya Kumar Yadav can have a great IPL 2024:
1. Surya Kumar Yadav bosses the T20 format
The number T20I batter in the ICC Rankings in this format, Surya Kumar Yadav has carved a niche for himself in the shortest format in international cricket. With his diverse range-hitting and his ability to smear the bowlers all across the park with utter disdain, Yadav has gradually become the backbone of Mumbai Indians.
In fact, that last competitive game which the 33-year-old cricketer had played, he had smashed a century and the game was against South Africa. Therefore, we can once again expect Surya Kumar Yadav to put on his A-game for Mumbai.
2. Fresh from a break
Sometimes too much cricket can affect the performances of the cricketers. Not only do they go through physical exhaustion but also mental fatigue and exhaustion. A 3-month hiatus from competitive cricket will help Surya Kumar Yadav come back with an open mindset and he will be quite fresh.
We can therefore expect Surya Kumar Yadav to have a simple approach while doing what he does best at Mumbai Indians.
3. Ability to play under pressure
We have seen this on uncountable number of occasions that Surya Kumar Yadav thrives under pressure. As Mumbai Indians have lost 3 matches on the bounce, we can expect him to take up onus and responsibility and pull Mumbai Indians out of this deep-troubled situation they are in.
If Surya Kumar Yadav can counter-attack and inflict pressure on the opposition bowlers, it will be doomsday for the opposition teams in IPL 2024.
Also read: Premier League 2023-24: Phil Foden’s Hattrick Helps Manchester City Destroy Aston Villa 4-1
