Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Suryakumar Yadav is yet to receive medical clearance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 after failing a fitness test on Tuesday.
Suryakumar is currently recovering from an ankle injury that he sustained in December last year. His failure to clear the fitness assessment means he is likely to be not available for selection for MI’s opening game against Gujarat Titans on March 24.
As per a report in Cricbuzz, Suryakumar underwent a fitness assessment at the NCA on Tuesday in bid to be fit for the upcoming season. However, NCA decided not to provide him clearance just yet. Thus, the Team India star will not be joining the Mumbai Indians camp this week. Another fitness test is scheduled for Suryakumar on March 21.
While he is all set to miss MI’s opening match against Gujarat Titans, there is optimism in the Mumbai Indians camp that the star batter can be available for the team’s second league game against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on March 27. Suryakumar, one of the best T20 batters in the world at present, is a vital cog in the Mumbai Indians’ batting line-up.
Suryakumar shared a heartbreak emoji on his Instagram story on Tuesday, a reaction that is understood to have come after he failed to obtain clearance from the NCA for IPL 2024. Nonetheless, the batter will have a chance to make amends when he undergoes another fitness test on March 21 and will be hoping to clear it this time.
Mumbai Indians to play intra-squad practice matches
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians have already kicked off their preparations for the new season and will take part in intra-squad matches behind closed doors at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Former Rohit Sharma also joined the team’s camp on Monday and was seen batting in the nets on Tuesday. For the first time since 2013, Rohit will not be leading MI and will play under newly-appointed skipper Hardik Pandya this season.