Mumbai Indians will come back stronger, says Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians (MI) had a poor season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, where the franchise bagged the wooden spoon with four wins out of fourteen games. 

Skipper Rohit Sharma's poor form with the bat only added to their oscillating campaign, which was further hindered due to multiple injuries to key personnel dragging them down even more.

Reflecting on the season, Rohit has said that it was an unexpected tournament for the Mumbai-based club, and they will come back even stronger in the 2023 edition.

According to IANS, Rohit stated, “It was an unexpected season, but we do want to reflect on the learnings and the positives. It was great to see how the team stuck together and backed each other. Now it’s about how we look at the next season and how we prepare. We managed to end on a high, and that was important for us. We are gonna come back stronger,"

Having suffered eight straight losses this season and created an unwanted record in the IPL, Mumbai tried to turn its fortunes around by winning 3 out of their last five games, but the train had left the station by then.

The Mumbai-born lauded the unity in the squad and thanked everyone for working towards one goal.

“The unity in the team is a good sign. I didn’t see any of them give up. We stayed together as a family. They were trying their best in training, and I am proud of that. The camaraderie in the team has been excellent. We had one goal, and everyone was working towards it," the 35-year-old explained.

Not everything was disastrous for the Ambani-owned franchise youngsters like Tilak Verma, Dewald Brevis, Tim David, and Hrithik Shokeen, who put up their hands when senior pros like Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, and Ishan Kishan faired poorly.

“Some of them are going to be gun players in the future. Them putting their hand up and giving their best was the most pleasing part of the season. They are mentally strong and have that hunger. A lot of them were playing for the first time, so it was our job to make them feel comfortable,"

"The support from the management is crucial here, and I am glad to know we have that. They gave us the freedom and support, and I can see a bright future for the team," the all-format India captain concluded.

Rohit was rested from India's upcoming T20I series against South Africa, where KL Rahul will take over the mantle from him. The right-hander will be in action in England, where India play a one-off Test in Birmingham before the limited-overs series.


Discover more

Top Stories
news

Daniel Sams opens up on his IPL campaign for Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder Daniel Sams has recently opened up on his team's campaign in the recently concluded season of Indian Premier League (IPL). He stated that the five-time champions didn't perform the way they wanted to do as well. Notably, they had a rather forgettable season where they finished at the bottom of the points table. The Australian all-rounder further said that talking to head coach Mahela Jayawardena and bowling coach Shane Bond had helped him during the tournament. "Chatting with MJ (Mahela Jayawardene) and Bondy (Shane Bond) I found really helpful. There was a conversation I had with MJ just about what he did when he was struggling and he just talked about keeping it simple, being relaxed," Sams said in a recent video shared by MI. However, the most successful franchise in tournament history finished with just four wins and ten defeats. Moreover, Mumbai recorded eight consecutive defeats before opening their account in their ninth match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the cash-rich league. While talking about the team's performance, Sams said that it didn't go as per the plans but they are excited for the upcoming seasons. "I think it (has) not been the most ideal season. I actually see it as a necessary season for myself, for everyone to become better cricketers, better people. We haven't quite performed the way we wanted to, but we're excited with what's to come next year. A lot of us in this squad have had to learn and deal with a lot of stuff because of the way that we have performed," he again shared. However, the Ambani-owned club finished off their campaign on a winning note as they not only defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) in their last league game but also knocked them out of the playoff race. After the win, skipper, Rohit Sharma said: "We were here to win the game. I know few teams were watching us closely, but we wanted to finish on a high. We'll try to correct the mistakes next season. It was tough after losing eight games, so we needed to rectify the mistakes.”