IPL: 3 Active players to play for both MI and KKR in league history

Mumbai Indians (MI) will be in a must-win situation when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 51st match of the IPL 2024. The good thing for them is that the match is set to take place at Wankehede Stadium in Mumbai. There is another positive for the home side - their head-to-head record. The five-time champions have dominated the two-time champions in the faceoffs. Despite that, MI would not fancy their chances to beat KKR in the upcoming match.

MI had a lot of contributors with the bat in the first 4-5 matches in the league. However, in the last five games, none of their batters have been consistent barring Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera to a certain extent. With a constant struggle in the batting unit, their bowling is highly dependent on Jasprit Bumrah. The opponents realize he is the threat, play him out, and target other bowlers to score runs. At Wankhede Stadium, the home side needs to give their best performance to stay alive in the tournament.

On the other hand, the only better aspect of KKR has been their batting. At the top, they have a reliant pair like Sunil Narine and Phil Salt. Lower down the order, they have great finishers like Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, and Rinku Singh. In the bowling department, Narine has been the decisive factor in their success. Given the strength and performances of both sides, KKR would start as favorites. But the head-to-head record nearly evens out the advantage. 

Also read: IPL 2024 Points Table

Here are the three players who have played for both MI and KKR in the history of the league -

Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav has represented only two franchises so far. His debut in the league happened with KKR. In the first few seasons, he was regarded as a prodigy. In KKR, the star batter was used as a finisher. The right-handed batter was not that good during his stint for KKR, probably the reason why he was released from the squad for the 2018 season. From 2014 to 2017, he played 54 matches for the two-time champions and scored 608 runs at an average of 22.52 and an SR of 131.89, including a solitary fifty.

In the IPL auction 2018, he was picked by MI. Over the years, he has batted mostly as an opener or as a middle-order batter for MI. He was key in two title runs for MI in 2019 and 2020. The right-handed batter has phenomenal numbers for the five-time champions. In 90 innings for the home side, the unorthodox batter has scored 2817 runs at a batting average of 34.35, and a great batting strike rate of 147.56, including a hundred and 22 fifty-plus scores to his name. In the last season, he scored over 600 runs at an SR of over 180.