Suryakumar Yadav, the Mumbai Indians batter, is set to miss at least a part of IPL 2024 due to the ankle injury he has been nursing for a while now.

When did Suryakumar Yadav get injured?

Suryakumar injured his ankle during the third T20I against South Africa last year after scoring a hundred while batting first. It required him to undergo surgery.

While recovering, he was also diagnosed with sports hernia, requiring another surgery in January 2024. The two injuries ruled him out of India’s T20I series against Afghanistan earlier this year.

He has been at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), going through his rehabilitation process since.

Will he be fit for Mumbai Indians’ first IPL 2024 game?

Mumbai Indians start their IPL 2024 campaign in Ahmedabad against Gujarat Titans on March 24. As per a Cricbuzz report, Yadav has not been given a clearance by the NCA, which makes his participation in MI’s first clash of the season highly unlikely.

According to the report, Yadav is set to undergo a fitness test on March 21, a day before IPL 2024 begins. His availability for MI will be contingent on the outcome of that test.

Suryakumar Yadav who underwent a sports hernia surgery in January has not received a clearance from the NCA, according to Cricbuzz.

His next fitness test is on March 21.

#IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/jx5E94RAEj

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) March 19, 2024

What do Mumbai Indians have to say?

In a press conference yesterday (March 18), MI head coach Mark Boucher said that they are waiting for updates from the NCA and are relying on their medical team.

“Surya at the moment is on the guidance of the Indian cricket team as well,” Boucher said. “Just waiting for updates on that. I don’t like to micromanage. We’ve got a world class medical team that’s in control of all of that.

“Yes, the past, we have had a few fitness issues. We are always going to be in that sort of domain of having fitness issues as other teams are as well. Every time I look at my WhatsApp, there’s reports of other teams also losing players.

“We trust our medical team that they’re doing the right things. Look, if we lose one or two from fitness perspective, it is what it is. That’s important and we just have to keep on the right track and sharp on replacements.”

MI’s second game of the season is against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 27.

You can find the complete list of players injured or ruled out ahead of IPL 2024 here.

Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.