[In Pictures] Suryakumar Yadav spotted hanging out in KKR dressing room during rain delay in Eden Gardens
Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Suryakumar Yadav was seen having a spirited conversation with some of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) members in their dressing room ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, May 11. The players from both squads are mingling with each other off the field due to the delay forced by rain in Kolkata.
There was rain predicted for the contest, and the clouds lived up to their reputation by making an appearance ahead of the match. With the ground covered entirely, even the toss could not be conducted leading to players staying indoors.
Given the delay, Suryakumar Yadav was seen amid a huddle of purple, with the likes of KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer, KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit and all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer.
Fellow MI batter Rohit Sharma was also seen in the middle of a KKR contingent in the dressing room, including Varun Chakravarthy, bowling coach Bharat Arun, Manish Pandey, and assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.
As far as the match is concerned, the covers are currently being removed after the rain died down a while ago. The umpires are currently inspecting the outfield and the pitch to check if the conditions are good to go for the toss and subsequent play.
Suryakumar Yadav represented KKR from 2014 to 2017
After a lack of opportunities in his first stint with the Mumbai Indians (MI), Suryakumar Yadav was roped in by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the 2014 season. He made his debut for them that year against MI itself in Abu Dhabi as a lower middle-order batter. He largely played as a finisher in his stint with KKR in the IPL, barring a few sporadic appearances in the middle order.
He ended up playing 41 matches for the franchise, scoring 608 runs at an average of 22.52 and a strike rate of 131.89. His famous 'SKY' nickname was also given to him by then-skipper Gautam Gambhir.
Coincidentally, like his first match with KKR, his final match for the franchise was also against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2017 season at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.