Losing their opening encounters in the Indian Premier League (IPL) isn’t new for Mumbai Indians. They have been through such phases in the past but have made stronger comebacks and even clinched the title. But surprisingly, they aren’t having a smooth campaign in 2022. The five-time champions have lost three games on the trot this season. With zero points in their kitty, they reeling in the bottom half of the points table.
Rohit Sharma & Co expected to go off the mark against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday. But Pat Cummins, who had just arrived after a bilateral series in Pakistan, ruined MI’s party with the joint-fastest IPL fifty. He hammered 35 runs in Daniel Sams’ over to guide KKR home with 24 balls to spare.
Cummins’ knock was unexpected that left the Mumbai Indians battered and bruised. But a captain has to keep his team motivated in tough times and so did Rohit after the loss. He delivered a passionate speech in the dressing room, urging his mates to show ‘slight desperation’.
“We seriously cannot be blaming individuals here. It’s all of us. We win together, we lose together. That is as simple as that for me.
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I think slight desperation is required from each one of us. That desperation is very, very, very important when we play, especially in this tournament. Because oppositions are different, they come up with different plans all the time. We just need to stay ahead of them. We just need to stay on top of them. And the only way we can do that is by having that slight hunger and that desperation on the field – with the bat, with the ball.
“So, we are doing some good things. In all three games that we’ve played, we’ve done some really good things. It’s just that those little moments, and that indication, you know an individual has to understand, in that period of time when the game is happening,” said Rohit.
The MI skipper conveyed his teammates not to hit the panic button. Instead, they need to come together and move ahead.
“There will be an indication that ‘this is the over’. What we do in that over, those little, little things – that we need to try and squeeze that, and get it towards our side. Get that momentum towards our side.
“We don’t need to panic. Honestly, we talk about talent, potential and everything in this room – but until we bring that desperation and hunger on the ground, oppositions are not going to hand us wins just like that.
“They certainly took the victory from us. We need to do that against the opposition as well. We need to nail those crucial moments and then see what happens, after that,” Rohit said.
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“There’s no point in putting our heads down at this point, because it’s still early days. Still early days. And I feel that, in these three games that we’ve played we’ve shown some character. It’s just that collectively, all 11 of us inside – whoever goes inside – need to come together.
“That’s all. Let’s keep our heads up. I don’t think we need to look down and start worrying about things. Honestly, we don’t need to worry about things.
“We can talk about so much stuff off the field, but I think it’s in there, what we want to achieve as a group. Again, this is not the bowling group or batting group, this is all of us – all of us here. We need to come together, not one or two individuals. Everyone needs to come together. That is what I feel,” he concluded.
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