Suryakumar Yadav walked out for the toss ahead of Mumbai Indians’ 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) match against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The 32-year-old batter is leading the five-time champions in the first match of Sunday’s double-header with their regular captain Rohit Sharma missing out.
Suryakumar said at the toss that Rohit is down with a stomach bug. Interestingly, though, the 35-year-old has been named in the list of substitutes for Mumbai Indians, among whom they will choose an impact player during the game. “Rohit Sharma is having some stomach bug, so he is out,” said Suryakumar while announcing the team for the day.
Suryakumar won the toss and said that MI would bowl first in a match that they are hosting at the Wankhede Stadium. “Obviously we would love to bowl first. The wicket looks dry. The ball comes nicely to bat on as the game progresses,” he said. MI are wearing the kits worn by the women’s team of the franchise, which had won the inaugural Women’s Premier League title last month. Some members of the team are present at the stadium for the match and were given a loud cheer before the toss. “Good to see the girls get the support they are getting here,” said Suryakumar.
IPL 2023 Live: MI vs KKR
Meanwhile, MI have handed an IPL debut to fast bowler Arjun Tendulkar. The son of MI’s first ever captain and legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar, Arjun was first bought by MI in the 2021 IPL auction. He has had a good domestic season after switching from Mumbai to Goa, notably scoring a century on his first class debut for the team in the Ranji Trophy against Rajasthan. MI are also handing a debut cap to South African fast bowler Duan Jansen, twin brother of Proteas fast bowling all-rounder Marco Jansen. KKR are fielding an unchanged playing XI.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Nitish Rana (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, N Jagadeesan, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Mumbai Indians: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Cameron Green, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Arjun Tendulkar, Hrithik Shokeen, Piyush Chawla, Duan Jansen and Riley Meredith.
