Mahela Jayawardene breaks silence on playing Suryakumar Yadav as impact player: 'Don't create unwanted stories'

Unlike last season, the Mumbai management refrained from playing Rohit Sharma as the impact sub, and it was SKY who warmed the bench during the bowling innings. As expected, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene was asked to explain the rationale behind playing Suryakumar as the impact sub.

The former Sri Lanka captain put an end to all the speculation right there and then, saying the right-handed batter had a groin niggle and that the decision was taken to give him time to recover before putting him on the field. He also urged the media to refrain from writing “unwanted stories.”

“I said, no, just fine. It's okay. It was a change. Please don't create any stories. It's just that I have to take precautions. These are very valuable players for me to have them going throughout the season. These are calculated decisions that I make, and the management makes. There's nothing beyond that,” he added.

Rohit and Rickelton did the bulk of the job, with the two coming up with scores of 78 and 81. In the end, Naman Dhir took the team past the line by hitting a boundary on the opening ball of the final over of the game.

Earlier, KKR posted 220/4 in 20 overs owing to a 67-run knock by skipper Ajinkya Rahane. Angkrish Raghuvanshi also chipped in with a 29-ball 51.

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