When he wears Mumbai Indians colors, he is a different player – Dinesh Karthik backs Suryakumar Yadav to bounce back in IPL 2023

India’s veteran wicket-keeper bat Dinesh Karthik has backed Suryakumar Yadav to bounce back in the upcoming IPL 2023. Yadav was dismissed for three golden ducks in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia.

The right-hander from Mumbai was dismissed by Mitchell Starc in the first two ODIs whereas he was bowled by Ashton Agar in the third game. Yadav also bagged an unwanted record of registering three golden ducks in a bilateral series.

On the other hand, Yadav has consistently performed in the T20 format while playing for the national team and Mumbai Indians. SKY has scored 2644 runs in 123 IPL matches at a strike rate of 136.08 and an average of 30.05.

The 32-year-old has performed consistently for Mumbai Indians and has played a key role in the franchise’s success.

Dinesh Karthik said while speaking to Cricbuzz: “It has happened to every batter. It is very interesting to know that Ajit Agarkar was on-air when Suryakumar Yadav’s third dismissal happened. He has gone through this phase where he has had a few ducks. Every batter goes through this.

“Everybody feels for him because of the kind of talent he possesses, but T20 is a different format, and he is a different beast in that format. So when he wears Mumbai Indians colours, he is a different player. He’ll only get confidence walking into that dressing room knowing that that’s the format he’s aced in the last couple of years.”

On the other hand, former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan reckons SKY will have to move on from his recent failures and he must remain positive while playing for MI in the IPL.

“You don’t often see these kinds of numbers with such players. But it’s happened, that’s a fact. As a cricketer, you just have to move on. You’re always one innings away from your form or your best innings.

“That’s the way you should approach the game. I think it’s just about finding that positivity. It’s important that he just shakes off this whole series. If you have a delete-enter button, find that very soon, and then just move on. It’s just three good deliveries getting you out.”

Mumbai Indians will begin their IPL 2023 campaign against RCB at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on 2nd April.