IPL 2021: Mahela Jayawardene says 'out-of-form' Suryakumar Yadav 'not a huge concern'

The Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene has said that star batter Suryakumar Yadav, being out-of-form is not a big concern for the team, ahead of the Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals, match no 46 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. Suryakumar Yadav, one of the big hitters in the MI squad, hasn’t yet found his form in the second-leg of IPL 2021, as he has returned with scores of 3, 5, 8, and 0 runs, in four matches for MI. In the current season, he has played 11 matches for MI and has scored only 189 runs at a strike rate of 128.57 and an average of 17.18.

Meanwhile, the 44-years-old coach elaborated the team’s thinking on Yadav and said that MI won’t be ignoring high-profile players from the playing XI, just because they have to make few changes. Speaking during the pre-match press conference on Friday, Jayawardene said, “Surya just needs to spend some time in the middle to get his confidence back. But it's not a huge concern. Just because we have to make a couple of changes doesn't mean that the quality of other players are ignored. We make sure these players are fit and in balance when not playing.” The head coach further added that MI need to find the right balance between the batters and bowlers, to bring the best out of the pitch. 

Suryakumar Yadav was bought by Mumbai Indians in 2018 IPL players auction

The 31-year-old batter was roped in by MI in the 2018 IPL players auction for a price of INR 3.2 crore. The batter used to bat in the middle order for his previous team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), whereas he was assigned the top-order duties after joining MI. The batter justified his selection by amassing a total of 512 runs in the 2018 season which included four half-centuries. His ability to change gears at any point of the match benefited MI hugely as he went on to score 424 and 480 runs in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, in which MI clinched back-to-back IPL titles. In the 2021 season, he has scored 189 runs in 11 matches, with the highest score of 56 runs, which is his only half-century in the season so far. He hit the line half-century during the first-leg of IPL 2021 in India while batting against KKR in MI’s second match of the season.

(Image: @mumbaiindians/BCCI)