"It will be a huge loss for MI if Suryakumar Yadav doesn't play" - Mohammad Kaif on MI vs RR clash in IPL 2022

Former Indian cricketer and cricket expert Mohammad Kaif believes star batter Suryakumar Yadav is an integral part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) and that the team will be bolstered by his return. The 31-year-old was unavailable for MI's first game as he was recovering from an injury. He has now been ruled out of the second game against the Rajasthan Royals as well.

However, now he is out of quarantine and Mohammad Kaif expects him to straightaway make it to the playing XI. Speaking to Sportskeeda on the show 'SK Match ki Baat', here's what Kaif had to say about Yadav:

"Suryakumar Yadav is likely to play this game because he is out of quarantine and has been seen practicing. If he doesn't play then it will be a huge loss for Mumbai because they have already lost their first game."

The 41-year-old also feels Yadav's presence will be crucial for MI as he is in top form. He added:

"Suryakumar Yadav is an in-form batter and has done well every year in the IPL. He has also been retained because he is a valuable player and if he plays, Mumbai will benefit a lot. He is such a player who can control the game from ball one and Mumbai needs such an in-from batter."

Mohammad Kaif on key player battles to watch out for

Mohammad Kaif believes that the clash between the star-studded batting line-up of MI and the world-class bowling line-up of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be extremely exciting for the fans to watch.

The 41-year-old especially wants to see how the MI openers cope with the new ball threat of Trent Boult. He stated:

"Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Chahal and Ashwin versus the Mumbai batters, this is what the people would want to see. It will be a battle between Mumbai's batters and Rajasthan's bowlers. Trent Boult versus Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan from ball one will be fun to watch."

MI have won the toss and Rohit Sharma has put RR into bat first.