Mumbai: Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma – who slammed 62 off 44 balls guiding the team to a six-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bangalore here at Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday – lauded the scouting squad of the franchise for picking the best domestic players.
Uncapped Krunal Pandya, elder brother of India all-rounder Hardik, has shown character in the tournament so far; Rohit couldn’t stop his praises.
Krunal picked up two crucial wickets – that of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli – and finished with figures of 2/27.
“Even against Gujarat Lions, he conceded only 20 runs off his four overs and picked up a wicket. He has been impressive,” said Rohit.
“We don’t get to see the domestic talent being away on national duty. Our scouts did a great job tracking them. We have a balanced squad. Once you get into the second half of the tournament, you cannot change much, you have to win every game,” he added.
Krunal has 69 runs from three matches with three wickets. He remained unbeaten twice which included a 28-ball 49 against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“He understands the condition well and sets his own field when bowling. If a bowler sets his own field, it speaks a lot about his confidence,” added Rohit, who once again opened the batting for Mumbai.
“I will continue to open the batting for the rest of the tournament. Since Kieron Pollard wasn’t available in the last match, we wanted somebody experienced in the middle order. So, I stepped down. Martin Guptill is a brilliant player but unfortunately he got out early the other night,” said Rohit, stressing on the importance of two seamers in the squad.
“People think it is a batsman’s game but a bowler guides a team to the winning position. Mitchell McClenaghan is generating good bouncers, Tim Southee swung the ball well tonight,” he added.
Mumbai Indians will next take on Delhi Daredevils on Saturday.
