Mumbai:
Malinga unlikely for first half of IPL, says Ponting: Mumbai Indians will miss the services of pace spearhead Lasith Malinga at least for the first half of the season. Malinga has been pivotal to Mumbai Indians campaign since 2009 taking 143 wickets in 98 games and his absence due to injury will be a severe jolt to coach Ricky Ponting’s plans of defending the title. Malinga who missed the ICC World Twenty20 in India due to injury is yet to join the squad.
“I believe he will be joining us after the first couple of games to have his fitness assessed. Right now it’s unlikely he will take part in the first half of the tournament anyway. If we want to name a replacement we have to do so before the fifth game,” Ponting said. Ponting admitted they will miss Malinga but suggested they had adequate replacements in the form of Tim Southee and Marchant de Lange with Mitchell McClenaghan being perhaps the first choice pacer due to his impressive show last season.
“If you look at last season when we were playing our best cricket, Malinga was bowling at his best as well. He’s been one of the great performers in world cricket with the new as well as the old ball. He will be definitely missed, but we have more than adequate replacements if he’s ruled out. We can also think about having three (foreign) batsmen,” he said. The former Australian skipper wasn’t worried about Mumbai Indians’ skipper Rohit Sharma’s poor form in the WT20. Rohit though showed glimpses of regaining form in the semi-final against West Indies at Wankhede stadium. “Rohit has shown it over a long period of time. You will have ups and downs. I am sure he will play well,” he said.
I will preferably open the innings, says skipper Rohit: Rohit Sharma has cemented his place in the Indian limited overs team as an opener since 2013 but he has mostly come at No 3 and No 4 for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. Sharma who has led the side to title win last year, hinted he would open the innings against Rising Pune Supergiants in the inaugural game at Wankhede stadium here on Saturday. “I would preferably open the innings and see four-five games. A lot depends on what sort of balance is needed. We had got some exciting players in the auction. I am happy at the way things are turning out at practice sessions,” he said.
Mumbai Indians had disastrous start to their campaign in the last two seasons and Sharma admitted the focus is to gain early momentum this season. “T20 is a lot about momentum. To start off on a good note is very important. We have stressed on it. Over the last couple of years we did not start well, but we went on to win the title (in 2015). We don’t want to do that this year. We want to start on a high note,” he said.
Sharma admitted they will miss the intense rivalry with suspended Chennai Super Kings but was positive about the fact that MS Dhoni and other few players are still there with Supergiants. “Along with MI, they (CSK) have been one of the most consistent teams in IPL. The kind of quality they brought to the table was immense. Yes, we will miss them as a team. But it’s a new team and some of them are there, but obviously it won’t be the same,” he added.
