IPL 2022: Rohit Sharma reveals Mumbai Indians’ opening pair, breaks silence on Suryakumar Yadav’s availability

Captain of the Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma has in the past sacrificed his fancied opener’s slot to offer more balance to the team.

For years, Rohit has repeatedly shuffled himself in MI’s top order until IPL 2019 arrived. In a World Cup year, Rohit opened the innings for MI throughout the season and the result was an emphatic 405 runs with two half-centuries.

He stuck to the formula the year later in 2020 and scored 332 runs as both seasons, MI went on to lift the trophy. Rohit bettered his overall tally in IPL 2021 scoring 381 runs even though MI failed to reach the Playoffs.

Ahead of the season, Rohit had hinted that he would once again like to open the innings but pointed out he was ready to bat anywhere based on the demands of the team.

This time around though, with no Quinton de Kock to fall back on, the best and most reliable opening pair for the five-time champions is Rohit and Ishan Kishan.

And ahead of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League which begins on Saturday, the MI skipper confirmed that he will indeed get the innings underway for his team with the franchise’s ₹15.25 crore buy, Ishan.

“I will open the batting. I’ve been doing that in the past so I’m looking forward to open with Ishan,” Rohit responded to a query from.

Head coach Mahela Jayawardena weighed in on the same by saying: “I think Rohit and Ishan is a good combination up top and Ishan is also a wicketkeeper, and there are very few who can bat in the top-three.”

Rohit opening the batting will leave MI with Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard as the only two players in the middle-order from previous editions. With no Pandya brothers, the likes of N Tilak Verma and Sanjay Yadav could be given the responsibility in due time.

However, MI’s biggest headache at this point is the uncertainty surrounding Suryakumar’s injury and his impending availability for their season opener against Delhi Capitals on Sunday. Suryakumar picked up hairline fracture on his thumb during the third T20I against West Indies on February 22.

The 31-year-old batter has since been in rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru, but there has been no intimation about him, leading to reports that Suryakumar is most likely to miss MI’s first match of the season. Rohit broke his silence over the availability of the batter, providing a huge update on where his fitness stands.

“Surya is at the NCA at the moment. He is recovering well. He will be here soon and yeah, I can’t give you his availability right now… whether he will be there to play the first game or not, but yeah, we are trying to get him here as soon as possible once we have the clearance from NCA,” Rohit pointed out.