"Mumbai Indians will have to look at keeping him" - Brad Hogg wants Suryakumar Yadav to be MI's first-choice retention ahead of IPL 2025 auction

Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg believes that Mumbai Indians (MI) must pick swashbuckling batter Suryakumar Yadav as their first-choice retention ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction. The five-time champions will have a headache while deciding their retentions due to the problem of plenty.

However, Hogg emphasized that Suryakumar as their first pick is a no-brainer. Suggesting that the Indian T20I skipper should be retained over the likes of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, here's what he said in a video shared on his YouTube channel:

"He's able to hit sixes in all parts of the ground and he just sets himself up so beautifully. That's why I think Mumbai Indians will have to look at keeping him as their number one player rather than Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya because he just blows opposition teams away."

According to the new IPL retention rules, a team will be allowed to retain a maximum of six players from their existing squad. The retentions can be made directly or by the Right to Match (RTM) option. The first-choice retention will draw a salary of ₹18 crore.

Suryakumar Yadav's second stint with Mumbai Indians began in 2018. He quickly established himself as an integral part of the team with his whirlwind knocks. With 3,033 runs across 96 innings, he is MI's third-highest run-getter in the league's history.

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"He has really shown that he is a true leader" - Brad Hogg on Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy

Suryakumar Yadav piped Hardik Pandya in India's T20I captaincy race following the 2024 T20 World Cup. His tenure as the full-time skipper has kicked off on an impressive note with series victories over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

In the same video, Brad Hogg opined that Suryakumar's leadership skills developed while playing for MI. He reckoned that that dynamic batter was more a follower than a leader during his time with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), adding:

"He has really shown that he is a true leader. When I played with him at Kolkata Knight Riders, I just thought he was more of a follower there. I didn't see the leadership side of it there, but when I went and did a bit of coaching at Mumbai Indians, there was a slight change. You could see that he felt part of the team and he was starting to think he was a leader. He was one of the experienced players in the team, he was taking youngsters under the wing."

Suryakumar Yadav's next assignment as India's T20I captain will be a four-match away series against South Africa. The opening encounter is set to take place in Durban on November 8.