"My personal vote will be for Suryakumar Yadav" - Aakash Chopra wants the Mumbai Indians to retain him ahead of Ishan Kishan

Aakash Chopra has cast his vote for Suryakumar Yadav ahead of Ishan Kishan as the Mumbai Indians' third retention after Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the IPL 2022 auction.

As per the retention rules, a franchise can retain a maximum of three Indians before the auction. With Sharma and Bumrah likely to be certain retentions, the five-time champions might have to choose between Yadav and Kishan.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Suryakumar Yadav gives the Mumbai Indians more options in terms of batting position. He said:

"It's a tough one. I feel Suryakumar Yadav is a more versatile player who can bat lower down the order as well. He is a little more experienced player. Ishan Kishan is more explosive. My personal vote will be for Suryakumar Yadav."

While observing that certain reports suggest that the Mumbai Indians are more inclined towards Kishan, the cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that Suryakumar Yadav should be preferred because of his experience. Chopra explained:

"But the reports we are getting is that they could be leaning towards Ishan Kishan. I like Suryakumar Yadav better because if I am looking at the next three-four years, I want to invest in a guy who has already played good five to six years of the IPL and he has three-four years remaining."

Both Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan did not enjoy a great time in IPL 2021. While the former scored 317 runs at a below-par average of 22.64 in the tournament, the latter managed 241 runs at a slightly better average of 26.77.

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"There is no RTM now" - Aakash Chopra feels the Mumbai Indians might miss out on Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav played all 14 matches for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021 [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra was also asked if Ishan Kishan's age and wicket-keeping abilities should not go in his favor and that the Mumbai Indians should thereby look to reacquire Suryakumar Yadav at the auction. He responded:

"One hundred percent but the only thing is that there is no RTM now. So you might not get who you want. Yes, Ishan Kishan is a multi-dimensional player, he gets two skills and an Indian keeper gets sorted out, who is a match-winner."

The former KKR player concluded by stating that the Mumbai Indians are likely to get better replacements for Ishan Kishan at the auction than for a middle-order batter like Suryakumar Yadav. Chopra elaborated:

"But the thing that goes against Ishan is that Rohit is an opener, so how many openers I want to keep with me because I have to get Ishan to open if I have to get the best out of him. We might get a lot of openers in the market space, Quinton de Kock and Chris Lynn who were already part of this team. I am split, I feel Surya but it could be Ishan, I don't know."

Apart from Yadav and Kishan, Hardik Pandya could also be in the Mumbai Indians' scheme of things. However, the all-rounder's fitness issues might go against him being retained.

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