Mumbai Indians’ middle-order has already struggled to score at a promising rate, and now Suryakumar Yadav’s poor run of form has added to that huge concern.

Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians have suffered a trophy drought for the last five seasons, and this sixth season is also a big opportunity for captain Hardik Pandya, who took over the reins from Rohit Sharma but is yet to make a big impact with the Mumbaikars.

Talking about their batting prowess, MI’s main strength in the last few successful seasons lies in their middle order. The openers had contributed from time to time, but the middle order would be their most consistent match-winning group. One of the assets in this middle order, even until last season, was Suryakumar Yadav.

Suryakumar Yadav’s failure and poor form have been the biggest batting concern for Mumbai Indians as they have failed to progress at a promising pace in that middle phase and have therefore missed the targets or projected scores by narrow margins.

Three reasons why Mumbai Indians should drop Suryakumar Yadav:

3. Prolonged lean streak since T20 World Cup

Suryakumar Yadav started 2026 on a high note against Team New Zealand. He had a poor patch throughout 2025, where his average fell to less than 15 in 21 innings for India. However, after a promising IPL 2025, he maintained his place in the Indian T20I team, and after a promising New Zealand series, he moved into the ICC T20 World Cup with his head held high.

When Suryakumar came out of the World Cup, he had that trophy in his hand; However, what was not going to be ignored was his poor batting form. He has struggled to score runs and has carried his poor streak into the IPL.

Playing 8 matches for MI this season, he has amassed 162 runs for the franchise and has averaged just 20.25 after finishing last season with 717 runs for the season. He only has fifty this season, which came in the second match against Delhi, which started MI’s losing streak this season.

2. Mumbai Indians need to revamp their middle order

Mumbai Indians have struggled in the middle phase. Although Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock or Ryan Rickelton, any of the players, have started them on some occasions, the middle order has been devastating.

The middle order plays a very important role, which became evident in the match against the Gujarat Titans, where Tilak Varma scored an impressive hundred after being slightly promoted in the batting order.

Suryakumar Yadav’s exit may help MI back Tilak Varma at no. 3 position, batting role where he has produced some of his best performances. This could also mean that MI could make use of their overseas batting depth more tactically, trying more combinations.

1. Suryakumar is not keeping pace with the in-form batsmen.

Not all the batsmen in MI’s den are out of form as De Kock has already scored a century, as has youngster Tilak Varma. While Rohit started the season well, Ryan Rickelton has been firing at times for the Mumbai Indians. Naman Dhir has also been in good touch at times when sent on early.

However, Suryakumar Yadav, who came between these players, failed to pick up the pace of the game. His only half-century this season came at a strike rate of around 145, while his strike rate dropped to an all-time low of 130 during the chases.

Even in the last game against the Chennai Super Kings, where he scored those runs at a very poor strike rate, it mattered in the game. The loss against RCB by just 18 runs was further highlighted when Surya batted too slowly compared to other batsmen in that XI. Therefore, he may no longer be suitable for that XI and needs a slight change of pace.

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