Former Indian Test opener Sadagopan Ramesh has urged Mumbai Indians to back Suryakumar Yadav as captain in IPL 2027. In the last three seasons of the IPL, Hardik Pandya has led the franchise but the team has been able to qualify for the playoffs on a solitary occasion.

There have been multiple reports, which suggest that Pandya could be traded out by Mumbai Indians. Meanwhile, SKY led India with great success and led the country to glory in the 2026 T20 World Cup. However, he was subsequently dropped from the national team after having a mundane run with the bat. SKY could only manage 270 runs in 13 matches for MI in IPL 2026.

Ramesh said on his Instagram handle, “Surya really shone as a player’s captain. In my opinion, Surya should definitely captain a side in the IPL. MI will be well-served if they make Surya the captain.”

In a recent interview, SKY revealed how he told Sanju Samson about his exclusion from the team. Ramesh said Yadav shone as a captain at that time whereas Samson showed he is a team man when he told SKY to back players which can provide the best combination to the team.

“Suryakumar Yadav spoke about how Samson’s response to being dropped during the T20 World Cup impressed him. At that moment, Surya shone as a captain and Sanju as a team player. Many captains won’t communicate with the player about their exclusion, but Surya made the effort,” said Ramesh (via the aforementioned source).

Eventually, Samson turned out to be India’s star in the T20 World Cup, scoring 321 runs in five matches at an average of 80.25 and a strike rate of almost 200. Thus, he was awarded Player of the tournament.