NO INJURY CONCERNS WITH SURYAKUMAR YADAV
MUMBAI: In a worrying sight for India's fans, Suryakumar Yadav was seen grimacing in pain during the second half of his magnificent, match-winning 51-ball century against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday night, raising concerns on India's premier T20 batsman's fitness, especially with he T20 World Cup now less than a month away.
However, the dashing batter later said that he was only suffering the after-effects of his first full-fledged T20 outing since December 14 against South Africa, when he went out of action, first due to an ankle and then a sports hernia injury.
"After 14th December, this is the first time I fielded for 20 overs and batted for 18. But I'm alright," the Mumbaikar said. In the initial matches of the IPL, Surya was playing as an 'Impact Player,' which meant that he wasn't fielding at all, but in the last two games, he has been a part of the starting XI.
TOI has learnt that during their meeting to pick the team for the T20 World Cup, India's selectors expressed their keenness to see SKY on the field for a longer time, to see how his body copes up after almost a four-month long injury-induced break.
On Monday night, the 33-year-old was cramping up more due to the heat and humidity of Mumbai than anything else. Having managed to score just 232 runs in eight matches in IPL-2024 before this innings, SKY was going through a 'silent period' with the bat, but roared back into form with his sixth T20 hundred on Monday night.
On a tricky wicket where the ball was initially seaming around, Surya, known for his 360 degree style of batting, chose to bludgeon SRH's bowlers with straight-bat shots, while sweeping left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmad for back-to-back fours. Surya credited the Mumbai school of batsmanship for his mastery over conventional strokes as well. "The traditional shots are from the Mumbai school of arts. I've played a lot of first-class cricket for Mumbai and a lot of games at Wankhede. I know when the ball is seaming, what's the right option at that time, that's what I tried to do today. When the ball stopped seaming, I played all my shots which I practise in the nets," Surya said.
Describing his latest special, Mumbai batting coach Kieron Pollard said at the post-match press conference: "He's one, by nature, instinctively very aggressive. So he wants to take the bowlers on more often than not. At times, it's just a matter of understanding the situation and respecting the new ball when it's moving around, and the conditions are not suitable for certain kind of shot-making. We have that discipline in order to be there for a period of time and then get into your work."