IPL 2018: I do not see ourselves as favourites, says MI head coach

Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene is in no mood to be complacent. The defending champions will feature in the season opener of the IPL 2018. They will be facing the Chennai Super Kings in the marquee first game of the season. Ahead of the season, the head coach of the franchise and the skipper, Rohit Sharma, addressed the media.

At the interaction, Mahela Jayawardene noted that the team needs to start right from the scratch this season. He admitted that the MI camp has done well by retaining the core group of players. However, he added that the team is not taking anything for granted.

“Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab have all gone in for new players and they look good. We all have to start from scratch and take it one game at a time. I do not see ourselves as favourites but at the same time we are equally good as other teams and will try to do one better than the opposition,” Mahela Jayawardene quoted.

On MI’s bowling

The Mumbai Indians bowling has been a talking point this season. They do not have services of Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, and Harbhajan Singh this year. All these three gentlemen have been perennial servants of the franchise.

Despite losing out on big names, Mahela Jayawardene believes that the squad is well equipped in the bowling department. He praised Jasprit Bumrah as a player who does not take pressure at all. Also, he believes Mustafizur Rahman and Mitch McClenaghan will come in handy as well. Recently, even Rohit Sharma had praised the MI bowling unit.

“Bums (Bumrah) doesn’t understand the word pressure, he does the role assigned to him very well. This time he has experienced players to support him with the likes of Fizz, McClenaghan and Cummins. Hardik is also a much-improved bowler, so I don’t think we have much to worry,” Jayawardene cited.

Rohit stresses on the role of spinners

Meanwhile, Rohit noted that the role of the spinners in the team will be crucial. Rohit remarked that Krunal Pandya has not played a lot of cricket in the recent times. However, he did look in good shape during the recent practice sessions. He expects the MI spinners to come good this season.

“Spinners have always played a crucial role for us. They have given us breakthroughs and changed the momentum of innings. We have some great talent, I just hope they deliver for us as they have for their clubs. Krunal hasn’t played much cricket off late but he was looking good in the practice. He knows his role and I am hopeful he can deliver for us,” Rohit Sharma noted.

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