IPL 2024 - Fans excited to see Suryakumar Yadav's return to MI squad, say 'No. 1 T20I batter is back!'

Having suffered three consecutive losses, the Mumbai Indians (MI) are in dire need of a victory in the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The side was even without their main batter, Suryakumar Yadav, who had been sidelined since his impressive T20I century against South Africa in December last year due to an ankle injury, followed by a sports hernia injury. 

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However, MI fans would be elated as the middle-order batter has recovered and made it to the playing XI for the first doubleheader clash on Sunday between MI and the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Wankhede Stadium. Netizens took to social media, particularly X (formerly known as Twitter), to express their excitement about seeing SKY back on the team.

At the toss, after losing and being told to bat first, MI skipper Hardik Pandya said, "We would have bowled first as well, but batting first is also not a problem. This wicket does look a bit drier. The ball might not come on nicely unlike in a night game. But there will be less swing and it should be good to bat. We don't want to put pressure on ourselves, but one win will give us a lot of confidence." 

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Speaking about the young children at the stadium, Pandya added, "Almost 18,000 young people are supporting us today. We're here to represent them and want them to go back home with a smile." He also spoke about the three changes made by MI, as Surya is back and replaces Naman Dhir, Romario Shepherd replaces Kwena Maphaka, and Mohammad Nabi is in, replacing Dewald Brevis. 

As for DC, Jhye Richardson and Kumar Kushagra got their maiden caps, and it will be the latter's debut in the IPL as a whole.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Tim David, Mohammad Nabi, Romario Shepherd, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Jasprit Bumrah

Subs: Akash Madhwal, Kwena Maphaka, Naman Dhir, Nehal Wadhera, Shams Mulani

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Abishek Porel, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Jhye Richardson, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed

Subs: Kumar Kushagra, Yash Dhull, Fraser-McGurk, Sumit Kumar, Praveen Dubey