The Mumbai Indians camp has some tough times to deal with following their loss by 20 runs to their biggest rivals, Chennai Super Kings. MI suffered the defeat at their home ground and the performances by certain players have sparked a massive backlash from the fans. However, batting coach, Kieron Pollard remains uninterested in targeting any specific players and has backed the skipper to come good.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Pollard revealed his intentions of not pinpointing any specific player. He said,” You’re going to have those days. I’m sick and fed up with just looking to pinpoint individuals. Cricket is a team sport at the end of the day”.
The former West Indies skipper has backed the skipper Hardik Pandya to come back stronger. Pandya has not been able to hit the ground running and has struggled for form with both bat and ball.
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“He (Pandya) is a confident guy. He has been great around the group. In cricket, you have good days and you have bad days. I’m seeing an individual who’s working bloody hard to continue his skill and to ply his trade,” said Pollard.
The former MI player also pointed out the fact that Pandya is very likely to be picked as part of India’s squad for the T20 World Cup so everyone should want him to do well.
“This is an individual that’s going to represent the country in less than six weeks. We’re all going to be cheering for him and want him to do well,” said the West Indian who himself is an MI legend,” Pollard commented.
“It’s about high time that we try to encourage and try to stop nitpick. See if we can get the best out of one of the great all-rounders India could ever produce,” he added.
The MI batting coach pointed out some of the best qualities of the skipper and has backed him to come back stronger through his lean patch in the tournament. “He can bat, he can bowl, he can field. He has an X factor about him. I hope very well deep down within my heart that when he comes out on top, I’ll sit back and I’ll watch everyone sing his praises,” Pollard highlighted
“As an individual, you have to evolve as well. When you’re young and there’s that youthful exuberance, you go out and you do things in a certain manner. But the older that you get, at times, responsibility sort of kicks in, accountability to teams sort of kicks in,” he said.
“What I’m seeing is a guy that is evolving. We as individuals, want to see certain things, but sometimes the game does not demand certain things.”
Pollard said that Mumbai Indians would revisit their plans on Dhoni but added that anyone could have been at the receiving end of the former CSK skipper’s onslaught like Pandya experienced Sunday night.
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“Yes, three sixes, 20 runs, some runs in the last over, but anyone could have gone for 20 runs in the last over as well. MS has been world-class for years upon years. We love to see him on the cricket field, walking out into stadiums. We’re all in awe of what he has accomplished,” he commented.
Reflecting on the defeat, Pollard suggested that the side will do their homework and come back stronger as a team.
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“The scoreline (20 runs), that’s the difference. But cricket is much more than what we see at the end. For us, it’s much deeper than that. We’re going to dissect and we have done before throughout the tournament and do our homework and try to come back better as a team,” Pollard added.
“MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya… you have plans of how you want to bowl to them, and you go back and you look to see if it was executed or not,” he concluded.
(with PTI Inputs)
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