Mumbai Indians batters Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have returned to full fitness ahead of the game against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, MI’s Director of Operations Zaheer Khan said on the eve of their big-ticket IPL 2022 match against Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai.

Suryakumar Yadav has been out of action for a few months due to a hairline fracture in his thumb. While he top-scored in the T20I series against West Indies in February, the star batter missed the limited-overs assignment against Sri Lanka.

“Suryakumar Yadav is a retained player and has been a key member of this side and we are all eagerly waiting for him to take the field,” said Zaheer Khan, Director of Cricket Operations at Mumbai Indians.

“In terms of his availability for the next game, yes he is.”

Zaheer lauded Surya’s range, and said that although using him tactically was on the cards, the preference would be to stick with what has worked so far.

“To have that kind of flexibility is always an advantage for any team,” Zaheer said.

Tactically, you will have that advantage and that’s how we are also looking at it. So there is a possibility, or depending on the position we are playing and the conditions we are playing in, we might opt for that kind of option. But at the moment, the discussions are pretty much to stick with whatever has been working for us and whatever a player can bring in, in terms of maximum impact.”

Surya has been a vital member of the Mumbai Indians core, churning out one match-winning performance after another on a consistent basis. Ever since he was bought in the mega auction of 2018, he has scored over 300 runs each season, going past 400 twice and 500 once.

It was no surprise when MI retained the India batting star ahead of some of the other big names who served the franchise well over the years.

NO ISHAN CONCERNS

Ishan Kishan is also fully fit and has recovered well from the blow he sustained on his toe in the opening game against Delhi Capitals.

Ishan, who opened the batting with Rohit Sharma after the departure of Quinon de Kock in their opener, hit 81 from just 48 balls, living up to his enormous price tag, but he did not take the field in the first half of Delhi’s chase due to an injury.

Ishan looked comfortable after coming onto the field and also went to take a fine catch to dismiss Delhi opener, Prithvi Shaw. Ishan’s efforts went in vain as DC chased down a 178-run target.

“He is absolutely fine,” Zaheer said. “We’ve taken the necessary actions, just on the precautionary side whatever was required. He has been practising and training regularly. We had a gap in between so that obviously helped him as well to prepare for this game. He’s fully fit and available.”

Mumbai Indians will be looking to get off the mark when they play Rajasthan Royals at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai on Saturday.