Raipur, May 10 (IANS) Star batter Suryakumar Yadav has arrived in Raipur and joined the Mumbai Indians squad in hours before their crucial IPL 2026 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru takes place at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in the evening.

Suryakumar and his wife, Devisha Shetty, welcomed their daughter Riddhima on May 7 and it led to doubts over whether he would join MI for their clash against RCB. “Surya Dada arrives in Raipur,” wrote MI on their social media accounts on Sunday.

At the Mumbai airport, before leaving for Raipur, Suryakumar was seen distributing sweets to media persons to celebrate the birth of his daughter. “Yeh lo, aap log khaana yeh (Have this, you guys please eat it),” he said, while handing out boxes of sweets in a generous gesture that quickly went viral on social media.

Suryakumar, who captained India to winning 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, has endured a lean run in IPL 2026, scoring just 195 runs from 10 matches. Despite that, his presence is crucial as MI face RCB in a contest that is crucial in deciding their playoffs hopes, with the five-time winners at ninth place with just three victories.

MI are also monitoring skipper Hardik Pandya’s fitness after he missed the win over Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium due to back spasms. Though Pandya has travelled to Raipur, the franchise’s medical team – Ben Langley, the head of sports medicine and physio Nitin Patel – will take the final call over his availability for Sunday’s clash.

After the clash against RCB in Raipur, MI will head to Dharamsala for the May 14 clash against Punjab Kings, and is followed by a trip to the Eden Gardens to face Kolkata Knight Riders on May 20. MI will wrap up their league stage engagements with a day game against Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on May 24.

–IANS

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