The under-pressure Mumbai Indians have received a Suryakumar Yadav boost, as the batter linked up with the squad on Friday and trained at Wankhede. He is set to feature in MI’s next IPL 2024 fixture, against Delhi Capitals on Sunday.

On April 3, RevSportz reported that Surya had been declared fit by the National Cricket Academy and he would join the MI squad in two days. On Friday, the 33-year-old, who is the world’s No. 1 ranked T20I batter, hit the nets after a gap of four months.

“He (Surya) trained with full intensity. Spent a good one hour at the nets. He started off taking throwdowns and then faced bowling also. The full 360-degree range of his shot-making was on display,” an MI insider told RevSportz.

“When Surya is available, he goes straight into the playing XI. Our coaches have been assessing his match fitness and in all likelihood, he will play against DC,” he added. 

In December, during India’s tour of South Africa, Surya had suffered an ankle injury. Later, he was diagnosed with sports hernia and underwent surgery. He did his rehab at the NCA and on the first day at the MI nets this term, the middle-order batsman looked comfortable. 

The five-time IPL champions have made a slow start to their campaign this year. Their decision to appoint Hardik Pandya as the captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, hasn’t gone down well with a majority of the fans and MI at the moment badly need a win to get their season back on track. Surya, his lack of game time notwithstanding, could be their X-factor.