Rohit Sharma is known for his man management skills and believes “role clarity” will help the new-look team perform well during the forthcoming IPL.
Citing the examples of Jaydev Unadkat and Tymal Mills, Rohit, at his first media interaction this season as Mumbai Indians captain, said that clear understanding of responsibilities would help the new recruits perform better.
“Mills, Unadkat are new to the franchise, but they are not new to the game. They have played the game for a number of years now and they know what needs to be done. It’s just that our role will be critical as to how we give them the understanding of what they need to do for us as a team,” Rohit said on Wednesday.
“They have played for different franchises and countries, where they had different roles. For us, that will be a challenge and we are trying to give them a role clarity as to what we are expecting from them and what sort of role they need to play here.
“Every time you build a new team, this is the challenge you face of taking them forward and getting into your system and your style of play.”
Rohit doesn’t think that his side will enjoy any added advantage since the matches will be played in Mumbai and Pune.
“It’s a relatively new team. I don’t believe in added advantage because 70-80 per cent of the guys haven’t played in Mumbai before. Only myself, Surya, Pollard, Ishan and Bumrah have played in Mumbai a lot, others have not. We are playing here after two years. We have not played a single game in Mumbai... So no advantage,” Rohit said.
He is keeping fingers crossed on Suryakumar Yadav’s availability for their opener versus Delhi Capitals. “Surya is at the NCA, recovering well. He will be here soon, I can’t give his availability right now, whether he will be available for the first match or not. We are trying to get him here as soon as possible, once we have the clearance from the NCA.”
Coach Mahela Jayawardene heaped praise on MI’s young recruit, Dewald Brewis. “We haven’t finalised (the top order), it is too early for us to give that information. But very excited to see him (Brewis) in the nets, he is a very committed young man and he is quite keen to learn and that is a good sign to see,” he said.
