Will share players being retained for IPL mega-auction once rules are received: Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma has stated that the franchise players being retained considering the upcoming mega auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL), will be decided and announced once there is clarity over the rules. Rohit further expressed his happiness after MI recorded a triumph by a margin of 42 runs in their final game of the league stage of IPL 2021, against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The defending champions scored 235/9, marking the team’s best total ever in IPL, with a hope of getting SRH out for under 65 runs. While SRH fought back well enough and chased until 193/8, it was not enough to deny MI a triumph which helped the franchise end their IPL 2021 campaign on a winning note.

“Look, right now we don’t know what is going to happen. The rules are not out yet. There’s not much clarity as to how many players you can retain and what is going to happen. So we have no idea about that. But once the rules are received, I will probably be able to tell you which player we will be retaining,” said Rohit as quoted by MI’s official website.

“In the next week or so, Hardik might be able to bowl”

The MI skipper further stated that all-rounder Hardik Pandya might be able to start bowling from the next week onwards.

“Look, in terms of his bowling, he hasn’t bowled yet. So the physios, trainer and the medical team are working on his bowling. As of now, all I know is that he hasn’t bowled a single bowl yet but we wanted to take one game at a time and see where he stands. You saw he didn’t bowl today as well, but he is getting better day by day. So, in the next week or so he might be able to bowl,” he stated.

“The doctor, physio will be able to give an update on that. As far as his batting is concerned, he will be a little disappointed but we know the quality of him. He is a quality player and there is no doubt about that and he has come back from tough situations before as well. Personally, for him he will not be happy with his batting but again the team has confidence in his ability. I personally have confidence in his ability. So yes, he is progressing.”

When you look at him, he is getting better every time he goes on to the field. He looks better and better. But again, a player like him is probably just one innings away from getting back and getting back to his own natural way. We have seen it in the past. He has done it before as well. If I have to put everything together, I am personally very confident of his ability. We have seen it in the past and there is no doubt that he will be a valuable asset,” added Rohit.

“We did not perform well this year”

The MI skipper added that there was no change in strategy by the defending champions, when IPL 2021 shifted to the UAE.

“No, there was no change in strategy. We knew about the conditions. Won the title last year in the UAE. We had also played well here. We won two back-to-back matches in Delhi in the first leg of IPL and we also wanted to play more matches but unfortunately, because of whatever was happening in the country, there was a break and all of us had to depart. Had to go back home but when we came here there were some injuries, some players from our first eleven missed the first two or three matches. But, in spite of that I know we had to perform well. We did not perform well this year. We were inconsistent in our performance. If you are inconsistent, it becomes very difficult to qualify for the playoffs.”