Former West Indies captain Brian Lara said he feels Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan are showing little hunger to deliver for Mumbai Indians in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 following their selections to India’s T20 World Cup campaign.
Brain Lara’s comments come even as Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan’s form for MI in IPL 2021 has become a cause for concern. The two MI stars, who were instrumental in the side winning its 5th title last year in the UAE, have been struggling to put bat to ball in the UAE leg of the ongoing season.
Suryakumar hasn’t gone past the single-digit score so far since MI resumed their campaign in the UAE. The 31-year-old, who was looking in good touch in India’s tour of Sri Lanka in July, has scores of 0, 8, 5, 3 in the 4 matches so far played in the 2nd leg of the tournament.
On Tuesday, Mumbai Indians made the “difficult decision” of dropping Ishan Kisan from the playing X for their match against Punjab Kings after his run of poor scores — 11, 14, and 9 in the UAE. Suryakumar was retained in the XI but the right-hander was dismissed for a duck after he failed to read a googly from PBKS spinner Ravi Bishnoi.
“They remember the Indian team, something may be more important. But this is where your bread and butter is. Playing the IPL, this is where you have done it. Looking at Suryakumar, looking at Ishan Kishan, looking at Tiwary, he looks hungrier than they are.
“For me, those guys have to be a little bit more professional now and try to help their team win the tournament.
“Forget the World Cup, this is your job now to get Mi back into the tournament,” Lara added.
Mumbai Indians rallied on Hardik Pandya’s 40 not out and all-round effort from Kieron Pollard to end their 3-match losing streak and seal a 6-wicket victory over the Punjab Kings on Tuesday. Hardik showed signs of returning to form with the bat but the all-rounder is yet to bowl a single over for MI in the UAE leg.
India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai. The premier tournament gets underway from October 17 in Oman and the UAE, 2 days after the IPL 2021 final.
