Reports: Mumbai Indians unlikely to retain Suryakumar Yadav for IPL 2022

Mumbai Indians (MI) are most likely to not retain Suryakumar Yadav for the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 31-year-old made a name for himself in the IPL after spending quite a few seasons in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). However, after he joined the Mumbai Indians in 2018, the right-handed batter came into his own while mostly batting at the top of the order.

In the first three editions, he scored runs in heaps and was called up to play for Team India at the international level. In 2021, he couldn’t quite strike form, scoring at an average of 22.64. Apart from two half-centuries, Yadav couldn’t churn out enough knocks of substance for his team. His form dipped to an extent that questions on his selection in the T20 World Cup 2021 kept surfacing.

New franchises eyeing Suryakumar Yadav

As per reports, Lucknow and Ahmedabad, the two new IPL franchises, have approached him for signature before the mega auction. Rohit Sharma, the five-time IPL-winning skipper, and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah top the list of retentions. The Mumbai-based franchise is also in talks with West Indies’ skipper, Kieron Pollard, who’s also the skipper of Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL.

Ishan Kishan is being reported to be the fourth name in the list, but nothing concrete on this development has come to the fore. The deadline for retention, as of now, is Tuesday, November 30. In the meantime, as per reports in The Indian Express, MI want to buy back Suryakumar from the auction. But if Lucknow and Ahmedabad sign him, Mumbai won’t be able to get him back.

MI won the IPL titles in 2019 and 2020, but had a tough time in the previous edition. They lost a flurry of games in the previous season, and kept getting pushed down the table. In their last two league games against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals, MI racked up wins, but couldn’t qualify for the playoffs.

The Knights, led by Eoin Morgan, edged them out on net run rate. Rohit and Co. won seven and lost as many games to bow out of the tournament. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya, Quinton de Kock and others are set to return to the auction pool.