Rohit Sharma will make his return with the Mumbai Indians and looks to set a big example.
Rohit Sharma is returning to big-time cricket after almost five months. The skipper is not the only one lacking match practice, but the same can be said about his Mumbai Indians’ teammates. He admits that there are a few others in the setup who have stayed away from active cricket. However, he noted that his team has covered the bases well.
“Some of us haven’t played a lot in the middle in the past months,” Rohit said on Wednesday (April 5). “That is why we started our camp a little early, a couple of weeks back, to get into the groove. We were here [in Pune] yesterday to get used to the conditions, so lack of match practice shouldn’t be a worry,”
Other than the captain himself, who hasn’t played for India since October last year (he had played two Vijay Hazare Trophy one-dayers for Mumbai, scoring 4 & 16), Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson and Hardik Pandya haven’t played too much cricket of late.
“But many of our other players, domestic as well as international, have been playing competitive cricket. [Kieron] Pollard and [Lendl] Simmons played a game day before yesterday. Also we made sure to play a couple of practice games before we start our campaign,” he said.
With both openers Simmons and Jos Buttler in good form, Rohit may face a tough choice while balancing the foreign and domestic players’ quota in his playing XI. “Whether I open or play late will be decided depending on the situation. We need to have a fine balance. Being the captain, I will have to set an example, so my batting order will depend upon the situation and my team’s requirements,” said Rohit.
