Suryakumar Yadav has been ruled out of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 due to left forearm muscle injury. Yadav sustained the injury during MI's clash against Gujarat Titans (GT) on May 6, 2022.
In the previous game, he scored 13 runs against Titans. MI ended up winning the match as Hardik Pandya chose to bat first for the first time after winning the toss.
SKY's replacement
The 31-year-old has been replaced by Punjab-born all-rounder Ramandeep Singh for the clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai, on May 9. On his debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Ramandeep scored just six runs from 12 deliveries. On the other hand, MI are unlikely to name his replacement in the squad.
SKY's numbers
Suryakumar joined MI side after a few matches and strengthened their middle order. So far, he has scored 303 runs from eight games at an average of 43.29 including three half-centuries. He is also their second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2022.
Got injured before IPL too
Earlier Suryakumar missed a few IPL matches as he was recovering from a hairline fracture during India vs West Indies third and final T20I in Kolkata on February 20. The veteran MI batter went under rehabilitation at National Cricket Academy (NCA), Begaluru, before joining the IPL bubble.
Nothing to lose
MI are already out of the IPL 2022 playoffs race as they suffered record eight losses in a row. The Rohit Sharma-led side have managed to register two consecutive wins after that. However, they can end put an end to Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) hopes of reaching last four with their third consecutive win.
Concern for Indian side
The magnitude of Suryakumar's injury is not confirmed yet. Next month, India are to play South Africa in five-T20I series at home. Suryakumar will be expected to return to the side as big names can be rested ahead of England tour.