IPL 2021: Mumbai Indians rely heavily on Suryakumar Yadav, says Saba Karim

Former Indian wicketkeeper and national selector Saba Karim was full of praise for Suryakumar Yadav, who was recently a part of the national team setup for the five-match Test series in England. Karim hailed Suryakumar’s ability to anchor the innings while at the same time ensuring a brisk rate of scoring runs. The former Indian cricketer expressed his opinion that defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) would rely heavily on his performances in the second half of IPL 2021, adding that the franchise would further look to retain him for the upcoming editions of the tournament as well.

“Mumbai Indians are lucky to have someone like Suryakumar Yadav who can come in to bat at number 3 or 4 and can anchor the innings, while also hitting boundary shots when needed. Mumbai rely heavily on Suryakumar Yadav’s batting. His name will also come up for sure when the franchise looks for the players to retain for their upcoming seasons,” said the former Indian cricketer in an interaction with Khelneeti.

Karim further believes that Ishan Kishan can be utilised as a floater by the Mumbai-based franchise.

“Ishan Kishan is not needed at the top of the order for MI. The team uses him well at number 4. I don’t think they will want to make any such changes. They have a settled batting unit and also have a lot of depth in their batting order. Ishan Kishan is a type of player who can be used as a floater. He will have a similar role with the Indian team as well,” he stated.

Suryakumar Yadav will face a stern challenge from Tabraiz Shamsi

Suryakumar might be a very good player of spin, but he might well face a stern challenge from South African cricketer Tabraiz Shamsi who can be a game-changer on his day.

“With reference to the conditions in UAE and the short boundaries in Sharjah, I think it is a challenge. But it also means that you have an opportunity to get wickets. Sometimes on grounds like that, a spell which goes for 35-40 runs can be a match-winning spell, whereas in other games, a spell of 3 or 4 wickets can change a game. So, I think it’s not just about taking wickets,” said Shamsi who had picked up 3 wickets in 4 IPL matches in 2016, as quoted by Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) official website.

The South African has learned quite a few things from RR’s former skipper Shane Warne, and is looking to unleash the same when IPL 2021 resumes. Shamsi further confidently urged fans of the franchise to be optimistic about the team’s chances of winning the trophy, in a statement of intent.

“Shane was of course a legendary leg spinner, and he was always a go-to man for any spinner. From him, I have learned to keep things simple and to be able to remember that we’re all different and that cricket becomes as complicated as you make it in your head. They (fans) should be ready to celebrate a trophy win – that’s our goal and that’s not going to change. We are definitely going to try our best to bring the trophy back to the Royals,” he concluded.