Mumbai: Mumbai Indians director of cricket Zaheer Khan on Friday confirmed that their flamboyant batter Suryakumar Yadav will be available for selection for the second match of IPL 2022 against Rajasthan Royals at the DY Patil Stadium to be held on Saturday.
Yadav had missed the first match against the Delhi Capitals due to a hairline fracture on his thumb sustained during India’s third T20I against the West Indies at Kolkata in February.
“Yes, he is (available for selection). As I said earlier, he’s been practicing, so it’s something which we all are eagerly waiting for. He’s a retained player and has been a key member of the side. We all are eagerly waiting for him to take the field. He has been practicing. That’s all I can share at this point,” said Khan in the pre-match virtual press conference.
Khan also confirmed that wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan is available for selection too after sustaining a hit on his toe while batting against a Shardul Thakur yorker. “He (Ishan) is absolutely fine after doing whatever had to be done on the precautionary side. He has been practicing regularly. We had a gap in between, so obviously that has helped him as well to prepare for this game. He’s fully fit & available.”
Mumbai lost their first match by four wickets to Delhi and Khan promised that the five-time champions will bounce back with the ball against Rajasthan.
“There have been a lot of constructive chats around the options which we can take. The first game is always a tricky one and everyone knows traditionally how we have been faring up in the first game of the tournament.
“We usually have been slow starters but I am happy with the way plans are working and how everyone has been approaching this year. You will definitely that change in coming games. The first game was a good learning for us. CCI is not an easy wicket for bowlers, 200+ was chased down even yesterday. So, it was not an easy day for the bowlers. But we are right on the money in terms of planning and prep.”
In the tournament till now, dew has played an important role with bowlers finding it tough to grip the ball, especially under lights while defending totals. But Khan feels that bowlers will have to adapt to the challenge presented by dew.
“Dew is something which is not in your control. You got to prepare for it and you may have seen the bowlers practising with wet balls to see what are the options they can use in match situations. Teams are now option for six or seven bowling options considering all these kinds of factors and that’s how we are approaching for the upcoming games. It becomes difficult for spinners, even for pacers, the yorkers become ineffective in certain games. So those are the challenges of the game, have to accept and deal with them.”
–IANS