IPL 2021 | Mumbai Indians are lucky to have Suryakumar Yadav, states Saba Karim
Saba Karim believes that Mumbai Indians lucky to have Suryakumar Yadav in their ranks, as he can anchor the innings without compromising the scoring rate. Suryakumar has been an integral part of the franchise since 2018, and the consistent run since has earned him a spot in the national T20I side.
Suryakumar Yadav has been quite a force for the Mumbai Indians, ever since being roped in by the franchise back in 2018. The right-hander has aggregated 512, 424 and 480 in 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively, while maintaining a strike-rate of 136.63 halfway into his fourth season with the side.
Saba Karim, the former India wicketkeeper, stated that the Mumbai Indians are lucky to have someone like Yadav, who can anchor the innings without compromising the scoring-rate. He added that the franchise will be keen to retain Yadav for the next few IPL seasons.
"Mumbai Indians are lucky to have someone like Suryakumar Yadav who can come in to bat at number 3 or 4 and can anchor the innings, while also hitting boundary shots when needed. Mumbai rely heavily on Suryakumar Yadav's batting. His name will also come up for sure when the franchise looks for the players to retain for their upcoming seasons," Karim told Khelneeti.
Ishan Kishan has been another of Mumbai's emerging match-winners, being a prime presence in a power-packed middle-order. Kishan had an outstanding run during MI's winning campaign in 2020, during which he aggregated 516 runs at 57.33, while maintaining a strike-rate of 145.76. That rewarded him with a national call-up, and the swashbuckling left-hander returned with a 32-ball 56 in his maiden outing against England earlier this year.
Karm believed that MI need not have Kishan in their top-order, something that has been done in the past, and that the 23-year-old can be used as a floater.
"Ishan Kishan is not needed at the top of the order for MI," he said. "The team uses him well at number 4. I don't think they will want to make any such changes. They have a settled batting unit and also have a lot of depth in their batting order. Ishan Kishan is a type of player who can be used as a floater. He will have a similar role with the Indian team as well."
Mumbai Indians will take on Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, September 19 in Dubai.