Mumbai Indians' disastrous IPL 2022 campaign plunged deeper into crisis as their most consistent and in-form batsman Suryakumar Yadav was ruled out of the tournament on Monday.
The 31-year-old scored 303 runs from eight innings and was one of the few bright spots this season for Mumbai, who have already been knocked out of the play-offs qualification race.
But Yadav won't take part in the rest of the tournament after suffering an arm injury during the team's win over Gujarat Titans on Friday.
"Suryakumar Yadav has sustained a muscle strain on his left forearm, and has been ruled out for the season. He has been advised rest, in consultation with the BCCI medical team," the franchise said in a statement.
The top-order batsman was one of four players, including skipper Rohit Sharma, to be retained by the franchise ahead of this year's auction and hit three half-centuries in eight matches.
The Indian team management will also be monitoring the development closely. Yadav is an important member of India's white-ball middle order. The right-hand batsman's ability to accelerate against pace and spin at any stage of the innings made him one of the first names to be picked in the XI.
The injury is the latest bad news to come out of the IPL for the national side. The form of batting mainstays Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli has fallen off a cliff, while all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja lost his form, fielding prowess and Chennai captaincy within a couple of weeks. Hardik Pandya has been decent, even though there is still no certainty over his bowling fitness following return from injury.
The IPL was a chance for many players in the Indian team to test their 20-over mettle ahead of the T20 World Cup later in the year in Australia. While that tournament is in October and a lot can happen between now and then, there is enough cause for concern for the Indian team.
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