Suryakumar excited to lead TK; Dhawal ruled out

Suryakumar

With just a day to go for the inaugural T20 Mumbai League, Triumph Knights (TK) suffered a major blow when bowling spearhead Dhawal Kulkarni, who has picked up 19 wickets in 12 ODIs, was ruled out of the tournament with an ankle injury.

A huge loss
"We will definitely miss Dhawal's services. He is a star cricketer and has been influential in scripting many victories for Mumbai. Our young bowlers are working hard to fill his shoes. It is a huge loss, but at the end of the day, the show must go on," the Mumbai North East team skipper Suryakumar Yadav told mid-day yesterday. TK, who will be playing their first match against Sobo Supersonics at the Wankhede Stadium tomorrow, are expecting a replacement for Dhawal from the league organisers soon.

Suryakumar, who earlier led Mumbai, felt it will be a good challenge for him to test his leadership abilities. "Leading a team is challenging. There is an added pressure on my shoulders. However, I will enjoy leading this side and that too, against our own Mumbai players. We know each other's strength and weaknesses, so it will be an interesting league. I am excited to perform," he added.

'Love playing T20 format'
The aggressive batsman, who has been a regular in all the 10 editions of the Indian Premier League, is expecting a high-intensity tournament. "I enjoy every format of the game, but I love T20s more because we have to use our brains a lot and our skills are put to the test. Since this is the first year of the T20 Mumbai League, everybody is hoping for a good show and I think it will be a high-intensity tournament," Suryakumar said.

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