Suryakumar sweats it out in nets as Mumbai Indians await Rohit Sharma's availability

For a batter who thrived in moving away from the game for a short while to find his way back to runs, it was a contrasting sight here on Tuesday as Suryakumar Yadav sweated it out in the nets on the eve of Mumbai Indians IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad here.

For a batter who thrived in moving away from the game for a short while to find his way back to runs, it was a contrasting sight here on Tuesday as Suryakumar Yadav sweated it out in the nets on the eve of Mumbai Indians' IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad here. It was in January this year when Suryakumar banished his batting woes from 2025 with three half-centuries against New Zealand in a five-match affair right before the T20 World Cup, and helped India tide the challenge from the USA in the tournament opener with another gritty knock. Suryakumar had cut off social media and taken a break for 2-3 weeks before picking up the bat again to rediscover his form. But amid a busy IPL season, neither of that is possible and perhaps the only way back to runs is to hit the nets. While the Mumbai squad went on a two-day trip to Jamnagar, the players had hit the nets immediately upon return, which not only included Suryakumar but also former skipper Rohit Sharma, whose availability remains in doubt for the contest against SRH. On Tuesday, Suryakumar was the first to hit the nets much before MI's slated practice session from 6pm and wrapped up a one-and-a-half hour session. Once done, Suryakumar immediately walked over to have a long chat with his India teammate Abhishek Sharma, the leading run-scorer of this IPL, and they were soon joined by Ishan Kishan. Meanwhile, standing nearby them and also having a long chat were MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene and SRH opener Travis Head. Out of action since April 12 when he walked off from the middle after picking up a hamstring injury during MI's home game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rohit remains on the comeback trail. The 38-year-old has batted in the nets several times since then, but the team's position did not change from the last game. ''Rohit has continued to progress but any call on his involvement in Wednesday's game will be taken at the toss,'' MI's spokesperson said on Tuesday. The former MI skipper was present during the team's training at the Wankhede Stadium. Accompanied by two support staff members, he did some light warm-up and running and had a long chat before eventually leaving the field. He did not have a batting session.