Suryakumar Yadav to leave MI for KKR? Mumbai Indians break silence on batter's IPL future

Mumbai Indians (MI) has returned to the headlines as the retention process has already begun in the background. After the speculations over Rohit Sharma’s possible exit from the Mumbai Indians (MI), Suryakumar Yadav had also gained the spotlight for leaving the franchise.

There were reports that India’s new T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav will also leave the joint-most successful franchise in the IPL ahead of the upcoming IPL 2025 Mega Auction. Suryakumar Yadav was already in Rohit’s team when the MI appointed Hardik Pandya as their new captain, and the team was allegedly divided into groups.

Mumbai Indians (MI) deny Suryakumar Yadav's exit amid speculation

However, now the story took a fresh turn, as MI officials opened up about media speculations, which dropped a major hint that can surprise the Paltan fans.

The source claimed that Suryakumar Yadav will remain with the MI in the next IPL, although he didn’t react to the news of Rohit’s possible exit.

An MI source was quoted as saying by Sports Tak: “No, he won’t leave. Just people speculating on social media in order to get engagement.”

Injury forces Suryakumar out of Duleep Trophy 2024 opening round

Meanwhile, Suryakumar has been forced to miss the opening round of the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2024 as he recovers from a hand injury that he sustained during a pre-season match for Mumbai at the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament in Coimbatore.

He is currently resting and undergoing a routine assessment at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Suryakumar suffered the injury while fielding on the third day of the match against TNCA XI, leading him to miss the action in the second inning.

Suryakumar was named in the India C squad, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, and they will be taking on Shreyas Iyer's India D in their first game in Anantapur.

Here’s the updated India C squad for the first round of the Duleep Trophy 2024:

Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Abishek Porel (WK), Mayank Markande, Aryan Juyal (WK), B Indrajith, Hrithik Shokeen, Manav Suthar, Gaurav Yadav, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Anshul Khamboj, Himanshu Chauhan, and Sandeep Warrier.

On the other hand, it is being said that Hardik Pandya will remain MI captain in the next season. The five-time IPL champions have reportedly decided to give a couple of seasons to Pandya as the captain, which is a clear hint that the Indian all-rounder will lead the MI in the IPL 2025.

LSG don't need Rohit Sharma: Jonty Rhodes

Earlier, there were reports that Rohit might join Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the IPL 2025. However, the LSG fielding coach Jonty Rhodes stated that the team doesn't rely on Rohit’s presence to succeed in the IPL. While he recognized Rohit's exceptional talent, Rhodes emphasized that the LSG’s hunt for success is not tied to any one player.

Rhodes was quoted as saying by ANI: “I mean, there's the balance of teams, who's in the side. I love watching Rohit Sharma bat, but I'm not saying he must come in and replace, and then suddenly we change our setup. So, whatever, as I said, whatever happens, whosoever is there, I'll be doing my best to support.”