Suryakumar Yadav is fit and available and will play for Mumbai Indians against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday. He had missed their opening match against Delhi Capitals following his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

The Mumbai Indians batsman was recovering from a hairline fracture he sustained during the home series against West Indies last month.

“Yes, he is (available),” Mumbai Indians’ director of cricket operations Zaheer Khan said on Friday. “He has been practising, so that is something which we are all eagerly waiting for.”

Surya has mostly played the role of a finisher for India during his brief international career, batting mostly at No.5 or 6. But during the four-year period for Mumbai Indians, he has played at No.3, amassing 1733 runs at a strike rate of 137.

Zaheer hinted that he might continue at his favourite No.3 spot. “We might opt for those kind of options, but in the end, the decision is pretty much (to) stick with whatever has been working for us and whatever a player can bring in, in terms of maximum impact.

“To have that kind of flexibility is always an advantage,” Zaheer added. “Tactically, you will have that advantage, and that’s how we are also looking at it.”

Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan too has been given the go ahead to take the field against the Royals after he was struck on his toe by a Shardul Thakur yorker during the match against Delhi on Sunday. Kishan was thus forced to go for a scan when Mumbai took the field to defend their total. It was only after nine overs that he returned to keep wicket.

While Mumbai Indians lost from a seemingly good position to the Capitals, the Royals have set early pace this season with a 61-run drubbing of Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Royals have a rejuvenated team this season. With Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer, they have a strong batting unit.

Their bowling is equally strong with Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal. Boult has had success against his former Mumbai Indians captain Rohit in T20 cricket, dismissing him four times in 47 balls for 66 runs.

“It’s always nice to have such high quality in your attack. To have them available throughout is another great plus,” Royals’ director of cricket and head coach Kumar Sangakkara said in a virtual media interaction.