Mahela Jayawardene, the head coach of the Mumbai Indians, backed Suryakumar Yadav to come good despite his poor run in IPL 2026. The coach stated that the squad still has faith in their senior https://x.com/mipaltan/status/2050255267020050819?s=20 to get back on track ahead of a pivotal match against Chennai Super Kings.
As MI tries to turn around their season, Suryakumar’s recent decline has drawn attention. Jayawardene addressed the worries about his form during the pre-match press conference on Friday.
“I mean, he just won the World Cup as captain and was the Player of the Tournament last year. So what more can you say? We’ve had conversations about him. If you look at his batting in the nets, he practices as well as anyone. Even in matches, he’s hitting the ball well. But the way he’s gotten out a few times has been unfortunate. Sometimes he’s hit a shot and been caught at the boundary, and at other times he’s just faced a couple of good balls,” Jayawardene said.
“We just keep encouraging him. If you look at Surya, he’s had three or four brilliant years, not just last season. Players are human, and sometimes they go through a phase where things don’t go their way. He understands that, and he’ll come back with a smile and play the way he knows best,” he added.
MI, who are now ninth in the standings with just two victories from eight games, will need to play well going into their matchup with CSK. The team will be looking to their seasoned players to step up as the tournament enters a critical point.
This season, Suryakumar’s stats highlight the issue. He has scored 162 runs at an average of 20.25 and a strike rate of 140.87 in eight innings, which is less than his typical middle-overs output. With his past six scores being 6, 33, 0, 15, 36, and 5, the lack of impact innings has been the main problem.
“We just keep encouraging him. If you look at Surya, he’s had three or four brilliant years, not just last season. Players are human, and sometimes they go through a phase where things don’t go their way. He understands that, and he’ll come back with a smile and play the way he knows best,” Jayawardene said.
The trend was best illustrated by his last performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad. After Ryan Rickelton got off to a great start, Suryakumar came in and managed just 5 off 5 balls before going out to Eshan Malinga, missing an opportunity to help MI reach an even higher total.
For MI and Suryakumar, the match against the Chennai Super Kings is now much more crucial. MI’s campaign is faltering, and they need a swift turnaround after losing the earlier meeting in Chepauk. That strategy still heavily relies on a player of Suryakumar’s caliber, particularly in the middle overs when MI have struggled.
