10 days before the start of the 15th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), five-time winners Mumbai Indians on Tuesday suffered a huge blow as their star batter will miss their campaign opener against Delhi Capitals on March 27 as he is unlikely to recover from his injury.
Suryakumar Yadav, who was among the four players retained by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction in February, had suffered a hairline fracture on his thumb during the T20I series against West Indies and had subsequenlt missed the limited-overs contest at home against Sri Lanka this month.
"Surya is currently at the NCA doing his rehabilitation. He is well on his way to recovery but there is a possibility that his participation in the opening game will be a real touch and go affair," a senior BCCI source privy to developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
ALSO READ: Jofra Archer breaks silence on playing for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2022
"So there could be a possibility that he might be advised by the board's medical team to not risk playing the opener," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"So there could be a possibility that he might be advised by the board's medical team to not risk playing the opener," he added.
{{/usCountry}}For Mumbai Indians, Suryakuamr is part of the important Indian batting line-up that forms the franchise's playing XI. The two others are their captain Rohit Sharma and young Ishan Kishan, who was brought back for a whopping INR 15.25 crore in the meg auction.
Following the opener against Delhi, Mumbai will have a five-day gap before their second match and Suryakumar is expected to join the squad then.
"I think by the second MI game, he would be 100 per cent match fit. It is likely to be more of a precautionary measure if he doesn't play the first game," the source added.
Suryakumar was in in spectacular form in the T20I series against West Indies where he won the Player of the Match award as well.
Meanwhile, Rohit and Jasprit Bumrah, who were part of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka entered the team bio-bubble. They do not have to undergo a separate three-day quarantine as it was a bubble to bubble transfer.