The 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was marred by chaos surrounding the captaincy change at Mumbai Indians (MI). The five-time champions made a big call heading in the IPL 2024, replacing long-serving skipper Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya, with the franchise bringing him back from Gujarat Titans as part of an all cash deal. This led to further speculations of a rift between Rohit and Hardik. This alleged bad blood between the two led to MI finishing at the bottom spot in the points.
While the two seem to have sorted their differences during the T20 World Cup, which India won earlier this year, reports have been floating that Rohit has been approached by multiple franchises to become their captain for the next season.
However, the problem doesn't seem to end here for MI as a report has now claimed that Suryakumar Yadav, who was recently named captain of India’s T20I side, has been approached by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to become their skipper, starting with IPL 2025.
According to a YouTube video by journalist Rohit Juglan, Suryakumar could re-united with his former team with KKR making an unofficial offer to him. The report also claimed that KKR are ready to do a trade deal with MI for Suryakumar, with Shreyas Iyer, who guided them to the title last year, going the other way.
This could indeed be a possibility with a mega auction set to be held before the new season next year.
However, on the video by the journalist, there has been no official reaction from KKR.
Meanwhile, both Suryakumar and Iyer are playing for Mumbai in the ongoing Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament.
After Suryakumar confirmed his participation earlier this month, the Mumbai Cricket Association's joint secretary, Deepak Patil, issued a statement on Tuesday confirming Iyer's availability for the match against Jammu and Kashmir.
"Shreyas Iyer will play for the Mumbai team at the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament organised by Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. He will be playing the Mumbai v Jammu & Kashmir match to be played from August 27 at Coimbatore," Patil announced.
The Buchi Babu Tournament, a historic fixture in India's domestic cricket scene, will serve as a crucial platform for both Iyer and Suryakumar to fine-tune their games. Earlier, the BCCI had encouraged India internationals to participate in domestic tournaments ahead of the upcoming international season, recognising the importance of match practice in maintaining peak performance.