From SKY to abyss - Suryakumar Yadav's poor form continues in IPL for Mumbai Indians

At the turn of the year, cricket fans were clamouring for a statue of Suryakumar Yadav in front of BCCI's (Board of Control for Cricket in India) lavish mansion by the Arabian Sea or at least in the streets of Chembur, Mumbai, a suburb where the cricketer spent his childhood.

Even the sky was not the limit for SKY, aka Suryakumar Yadav. He was in sublime form, slammed the second-fastest century for India in T20Is, courtesy of his 112* off just 51 deliveries - which propelled India to a 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka, and a couple of weeks later was named as the T20I Cricketer of the Year for 2022 by the ICC in its annual awards.

In the 2022 calendar year, Suryakumar scored 1164 runs in 31 T20I innings, with a strike rate of 187.43 and an average of 46.56, with two centuries and nine half-centuries. Phew! 

Cut to April 2023. In an Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Delhi Capitals (DC) for Mumbai Indians (MI), stationed at long-off, Yadav misjudged a catch of Axar Patel and gave away a boundary in the 15th over. Behold, the misery was not over!

In the 17th over, this time at long-on, Yadav dropped an absolute sitter, with the ball going through his fingers and hitting just above the eye. It ended landing across the boundary line for a six. The camera person quickly cut to MI skipper Rohit Sharma, who was spotted shaking his head in disbelief. 

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— Main Dheet Hoon (@MainDheetHoon69) April 12, 2023

To rub salt into the wounds, SKY went on to guide a rank short ball into fine leg's hands on the very first ball he faced when he came on to bat. This was another chapter in a horrendous run of form for the Indian star.

What is Suryakumar Yadav's record in his last 10 matches? 

Yadav headed into this edition of IPL, after a nightmarish series against Australia where he was dismissed three successive times on a golden duck -  LBW to Mitchell Starc in Mumbai & Visakhapatnam respectively and bowled by Ashton Agar in Chennai. 

India coach, Rahul Dravid, defended the batsman saying that Yadav is still an apprentice learning to crack the ODI code. 

"Not really concerned so much about Suryakumar," Dravid said. "He got two first-ballers against two pretty good balls. One of the things about Surya is he is also learning the 50-over game a little bit. The T20 game is slightly different. We just need to give him some time and be patient with him. We certainly see the upside of him doing well, which is very good for the side."

Indeed, the Indian team management has been exceptionally patient with Yadav and has backed the player through thick and thin.

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— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) April 7, 2023

How has Surya Kumar Yadav performed in the 2023 IPL so far?

The T20 specialist seems to have carried his poor run of form in the domestic tournament as well. 

Yadav scored 15 in the opening match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) before getting out for one against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and in his last outing he once again perished for a golden duck as he got caught by Kuldeep Yadav at fine leg while playing his trademark pick-up shot off Mukesh Kumar. 

Yadav has scored just 16 runs from his first three innings in the ongoing edition of IPL which should be a cause of concern for the MI team management and of course, Dravid!

Former Australia fast bowler, Shaun Tait, believes his unorthodox batting style adds to his problem while trying to get out of a rut. 

"Obviously he's an unbelievable player but you wouldn't say he's an organised player when he comes to the crease. Someone like a Virat Kohli, right, he's an organised player. That's his game. Surya can change things around innings to innings. But because he's so flash and so great to watch and entertaining, maybe the recklessness can fall the other way.

"The other thing that comes in as well, maybe the hype and the great run he's had maybe he's come down a couple of rungs. Hopefully he can get back up there. He's like Maxwell. The way he thinks about the game is a little bit different and so the fall can be a little bit harder for those sort of players," he told ESPN Cricinfo. 

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What is Surya Kumar Yadav's record in IPL?

Yadav has scored 2660 runs in 126 innings at an average of 29.56 and a strike rate of 136.27. Here is a breakdown of his performance.