A group of Mumbai Indians (MI) players, including star batter Suryakumar Yadav and rising talent Tilak Varma, took a spiritual detour to visit the iconic Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
The visit, which also included teammates Deepak Chahar and Karn Sharma, along with Suryakumar’s wife Devisha Shetty and Chahar’s wife Jaya, came ahead of MI’s crucial clash against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Friday at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. The heartwarming moment was captured in a picture shared by the Mumbai Indians’ official social media handle, which quickly went viral.
The players were seen offering prayers at the temple, located roughly two hours and forty minutes from Lucknow, where the team had checked in on Wednesday.
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The Mumbai Indians' post on X, captioned “अयोध्या #MumbaiIndians #PlayLikeMumbai,” resonated deeply with fans, amassing thousands of likes and shares.
Mumbai Indians have had a mixed start to their Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) campaign, recovering from two initial losses with a morale-boosting win against the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Ashwani Kumar's four-wicket haul rattled KKR and saw them bundling at 116 runs. Mumbai Indians' opener Ryan Rickelton scored a fifty in the run-chase, taking his side to an eight-wicket victory.
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Suryakumar Yadav Addresses Mumbai Team ‘Coup’ Rumors
The spiritual retreat was not the only headline Suryakumar found himself in. The Indian T20I captain broke his silence on swirling rumors suggesting he might be leading a ‘coup’ within the Mumbai domestic team following young star Yashasvi Jaiswal’s shock departure to Goa.
Jaiswal had sought a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to switch teams, citing personal reasons. Speculation then intensified with a report from The Times of India alleging that unrest in the Mumbai dressing room could see Suryakumar and possibly Tilak Varma follow suit to Goa, with the latter leading a coup.
Taking to X, Suryakumar dismissed the claims with a mix of humor and frustration. Sharing a screenshot of the report, which suggested he was “playing the lead role in getting players to consider a move,” he quipped,
"Script writer hai ya journalist? Agar hasna hai toh I will stop watching comedy movies and start reading these articles. Ekdum bakwas (Are you a scriptwriter or a journalist? If I want to laugh, I’ll stop watching comedy movies and read these articles. Utter nonsense)."
While Jaiswal’s move has been confirmed, sources close to Suryakumar have firmly denied any plans of him leaving Mumbai, where he remains a key figure both for MI in the IPL and the domestic side.
