Ahead of their Indian Premier League 2023 Eliminator match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma heaped praise on middle-order batters Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera. In an exclusive interview with JioCinema, the MI skipper said that the two southpaws will play a big role for MI and the national side in the future. He further said that their story will be similar to that of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Krunal Pandya, who went on to represent India after playing for Mumbai in the IPL. Follow IPL 2023 Eliminator LIVE updates with InsideSport.IN
Rohit Sharma on the two young guns
“The story of Tilak Varma & Nehal Wadhera will be similar to that of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya. After 2 years, people will say this is a superstar team – these two guys are going to play a big role for Mumbai and India in the future,” said Rohit during the interview.
Tilak was the find for MI in a disappointing 2022 season which saw them finish at the bottom. In 14 matches, he scored 397 runs at an average of 36.09 and a strike rate of 131.02. He scored two half-centuries in that season, with best score of 61. He carried this good form in the 2023 season as well. In nine matches, he has scored 274 runs at an average of 45.66 and a strike rate of 158.38. He scored one fifty this season, with the best score of 84*.
Nehal Wadhera, who had not played in any T20 match for his domestic team Punjab, also played some good knocks for MI. In 12 matches, he scored 214 runs at an average of 30.57 and a strike rate of 141.72. He scored two half-centuries, with the best score of 64.
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“It is just the passion of people running the show, right from the owners, staff and the players. Everyone plays their role in helping MI achieve what it has achieved throughout these years. The passion we bring, the craziness we have is a game-changer. You got to have that hunger. It is not easy to win championships after championships every year. You can sit back and relax after one or two titles. But no, hunger and passion have to be there to win these titles. Every year is a new year for us. We do not look back at last year’s performances. We just take all the negatives and positives and move on,” said Rohit.
Rohit Sharma said that a key motto for MI is to give chances to youngsters to showcase their talent.
“MI is about giving opportunities to youngsters. So many players have gone on to play for India. Scouts work really hard during the off-season while spotting talent. I do not go and watch (the talents), I do get feedback and discussion from scouts. It is important to find the right age for youngsters. MI invests in the future. The average age of this squad is 24-25, which is really good. We believe in this since we have seen the results,” said the skipper.
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