New fast bowlers know what needs to be done: Rohit

Mumbai Indians managed to retain most of their batters ahead of the 2022 Indian Premier League but their bowling unit looks completely different. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard were retained, while Ishan Kishan was bought back in the auction for a whopping sum of INR 15.25 crore. In the bowling department, Mumbai only have Jasprit Bumrah from the previous edition, with the likes of Tymal Mills, Jaydev Unadkat, Riley Meredith, Daniel Sams and Murugan Ashwin being the new additions. 

Talking about the pace unit, Mumbai skipper Rohit said: “Mills, Unadkat are new to the franchise, but they are not new to the game. They have played the game for a number of years now and they know what needs to be done. It's just that our role will be critical as to how we give them the understanding of what they need to do for us as a team.

"They have played for different franchises and countries, where they had different roles. For us, that will be a challenge and we are working with these guys. We are trying to give them a role clarity as to what we are expecting from them and what sort of role they need to play here."

Meanwhile, head coach Mahela Jayawardene compared this situation to the one Mumbai faced after the 2018 mega auction. "We had Bumrah and a completely new bowling attack and we had to rebuild. But I think our planning and the way we approach the opposition is not going to change. What will change is, because of the new bowlers, their strengths are different to the bowlers we had in the last three years. 

"We always work with the strength of the bowlers and see how we can adjust to that, given the opposition and the conditions. So nothing changes for guys like Rohit, Polly, Bumrah and now with Ishan and Surya. So I think they will do most of the work, of getting these guys to that level of playing and making them calmer out there, making them much more comfortable and creating that environment on and off the field."

However, Mumbai will miss the services of the Pandya brothers and South African wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock. While de Kock and Krunal will play for Lucknow Super Giants, Hardik is set to lead Gujarat Titans in the forthcoming season. 

"Hardik was a very key member for us without a doubt. But again, the rules don't allow us to keep all the players. His contribution to this franchise will never be ignored, or never be unseen. I think he had a huge impact, played a huge role for us to get the success we had while he was here. He played his role to perfection; not many people can play that role,” said Rohit.

Mumbai will play 11 of their 14 league games across three venues in Mumbai but both Rohit and Jayawardene feel there will be no home advantage. "It's a relatively new team, a lot of new guys have come in. 70 to 80% of the squad haven't played in Bombay before. Only myself, Surya, Pollard, Ishan and Bumrah have played in Bombay, others have not played. So there is no such thing as an added advantage. We all are playing in Bombay after two years. In fact, the other franchises played in Bombay last year. We didn't get to play," said Rohit.

Meanwhile, Jayawardene added: "I don't even remember when was the last time we played in Mumbai. That was about two-and-half or three years ago. I think a lot of the other teams played here in the last season. And some of the guys who played for Mumbai over the last few years are now with other franchises. So they have that advantage if you look at it. We need to approach this as a neutral tournament, play the best cricket possible and be there at the business end of the tournament, which is playoffs and try to achieve what we all want to achieve."

The format for the 2022 season is similar to the 10-team format in 2011. Mumbai, who are in Group A, will play two games each against Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, Lucknow and Chennai Super Kings in the league stage, while they will go up against the remaining four franchises only once.  

"It's a format we played in 2011. So, to be honest, nothing changes in terms of planning. You have to play the opposition as simple as that. Some opposition you might play only once and some, two. I don't think there's a whole lot you need to change in terms of planning. We just need to be aware that certain teams you will play only once, you need to be very well-prepared as there's no coming back and playing against those guys. You just need to plan well against those guys, make sure that all your bases are covered as there's no second shot at that," said Rohit.

(Image credit: Mumbai Indians)