IPL 2022 is just about to start. Before that all the teams are ready and the round of virtual press conference by the captain and coach has started. In this episode, on Wednesday, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma and coach Mahela Jayawardene interacted with the media. During this, Rohit Sharma also remembered Gujarat Titans captain and his former IPL partner Hardik Pandya.
Mumbai Indians, who won the IPL title five times, have geared up with their new team this time. Apart from the retained players, most of the new and young players will be seen in this team. But captain Rohit Sharma has made it clear in the press conference that he is fully prepared. He has told that he will open the innings with Ishan Kishan this season.
Rohit remembers Hardik Pandya
Captain Rohit Sharma recalled Hardik Pandya’s contribution to Mumbai Indians and said, ‘Undoubtedly Hardik was an important part of our team. But these rules are such that we cannot keep all the players with us. The contribution he has made for us cannot be forgotten. He has always contributed significantly to our successes.
Hitman further said, ‘Now this will be a new challenge for him. He is now the captain of a team. This role is a new challenge for him. But whatever role he has got behind, he has played it well. Not everyone can play that role. My best wishes are with him.
Ishan Kishan will be the partner of Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma made it clear in this press conference that he will open the innings for Mumbai Indians this season along with Ishan Kishan. He said, ‘I will only do the opening and I have been doing this for the last few years. This season Ishan Kishan will come with me to open the innings.
On the question of Mumbai’s home advantage, Rohit said, ‘I hope you have seen the auction. This is a relatively new team. There are many new players in the team, so I don’t think we will get any extra benefit from playing matches here because 70 or 80 per cent of the players in the team have not played in Mumbai before. So there is no such thing as an added advantage.
Suryakumar Yadav fit or unfit?
Rohit Sharma also talked about the fitness of Mumbai Indians’ important player Suryakumar Yadav. He said, ‘Surya is still in the National Cricket Academy (NCA). His recovery is good. He will be here soon. But I can’t tell right now whether he will be available for the first match or not but we are trying to make him join the team as soon as possible.
Significantly, IPL 2022 will start from March 26 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. All 70 league matches of this season will be held in Maharashtra. 55 matches will be played in Mumbai and 15 matches will be played in Pune. Mumbai Indians will play their first match against Delhi Capitals on Sunday, March 27.