Mumbai Indians (MI) had a lacklustre Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 finishing at the bottom with just four wins from 14 games. Hardik Pandya’s return to MI and taking over the leadership from Rohit Sharma did not work out well for the franchise. Pandya was booed by fans for a better part of the season and his performance took a hit as well. While Pandya redeemed himself in T20 World Cup 2024 playing a vital role in the title win, Suryakumar Yadav was appointed as India’s new T20I captain following Rohit’s retirement. Ahead of IPL retentions, there have been rumours that Suryakumar may leave the franchise ahead of the mega auction but the franchise sees it as a speculation to gain attention on social media.
“No, he won’t leave. Just people speculating on social media in order to get engagement,” an MI source told Sports Tak.
When Suryakumar was named the T20I captain after Gautam Gambhir was named the head coach, Pandya lost his vice-captaincy as well. Opener Shubman Gill was chosen for the deputy role. Under Suryakumar, India completed cleansweep in the three-T20I series against Sri Lanka after the exit of veterans Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja.
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Suryakumar ruled out of first round of Duleep Trophy
Meanwhile, Suryakumar has been ruled out of the opening round of the Duleep Trophy 2024 due to a hand injury he sustained last week. Recently, the 33-year-old returned to red-ball cricket for Mumbai in the Buchi Babu Invitational tourament. In the clash against TNCA XI, he got injured on the final day's play and did not come out to bat.
Suryakumar’s Test debut
It will be interesting to see if Suryakumar recovers before the second round of Duleep Trophy 2024. Suryakumar made his Test debut in 2023 against Australia where he scored just eight runs. He hasn't played a Test since. Recently, he expressed his desire to play in red-ball format as well.
Suryakumar’s return to international stage
While his return to Test cricket seems likely, the Mumbai batter will be back to international cricket when India play the T20I series against Bangladesh next month.
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