Rohit looks to save the campaign for Mumbai
Admits the absence of Cummins took the edge of their attack
He has been a successful captain of the Mumbai Indians since 2013 and has lifted three Indian Premier League (IPL) titles in the past. With two back-to-back wins against Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders, batsman Rohit Sharma says he is looking at a good campaign in the Twenty20 championship this time too, especially with the “mixed bag” of veterans and young blood.
“We have a mixed bag of both T20 veterans and young-blood talent in the team. With this combination of experience and energy, I am confident that we are looking at a good series,” Rohit said when asked about his take on Australian paceman Pat Cummins’s back injury and how he sees the chances of his team in IPL with a weakened bowling attack.
In contention
“Pat Cummins’ injury is very unfortunate,” added the cricketer, who captained Mumbai to three IPL titles in 2013, 2015 and 2017.
In the ongoing IPL season, the team has so far played 10 matches and with six losses, they are at fifth spot in the points table currently and are in contention to make it to the play-off stage. Asked how he plans to strategise on his best team combination, Rohit said: “Doing what’s best for your team and making the best use of your playing 11 is what I look at. Often it happens that you don’t use your playing 11 to their best potential; so my focus is to make sure I do.”
Many call him a gifted cricketer but Rohit, who wants to “leave behind a great body of work”, says he is not a fan of that tag.
“I’m not a fan of that tag because my abilities are something I’ve worked very hard to develop. I started off as a bowler. Batting is something I started working on later,” said the 31-year-old.
On ground he is seen as someone who is very calm and deals with all complications with ease. So is he like that off ground too? “I have realised that being calm is nothing but being extremely focused on what you are doing,” said the right-hander.