While addressing the pre-match press conference, Zaheer Khan, Mumbai Indians' (MI) Director of Cricket Operations, has said that their ace batter Suryakumar Yadav is fit and available for their next Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the DY Patil Stadium, scheduled to be played on Saturday.
Suryakumar missed the first game for Mumbai against Delhi Capitals due to an injury he suffered in the third and final T20I against West Indies, back in February.
Yadav was recovering at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru before joining Mumbai Indians for the 15th edition of the cash-rich league. He joined the team a few days ago and underwent training sessions with the team.
"Surya will be available for the next game. He has been practising well, and we are eagerly waiting for him to play," Zaheer Khan said in the pre-match conference.
The 31-year-old is expected to replace Anmolpreet Singh and bat at number three for Mumbai. His inclusion in the team will provide stability to their middle order as Tilak Varma and Anmolpreet Singh failed to carry on the momentum given by the opener against Delhi Capitals (DC).
Meanwhile, Zak also confirmed the availability of wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan in their second game against Rajasthan after sustaining a hit on his toe while facing a Shardul Thakur yorker.
"Ishan is absolutely fine. He has been practising regularly. He's fully fit and available," Zak said ahead of MI's game against RR.
The five-time champions started their IPL campaign with a loss, but Zaheer said that his team has got some learning from DC's game, ahead of their second match.
"We have had constructive chats about the options we can take. The first game is always and we usually have been slow starters. The DC game was good learning for us. Of course, the Brabourne wicket is not easy for the bowlers. But, in terms of planning and prep, we are right on the money," he concluded.