Did This Team Become Good Overnight?- Rohit Sharma Hits Back At His Detractors

Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians skipper, has hit back at his detractors who had been pulling down his colossal achievements as the leader of the most successful franchise in the history of the IPL, following his fifth-title winning heist earlier this month.

Ever since Rohit Sharma led the Mumbai Indians to a record triumph in the recently concluded 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, some former cricketers, as well as his critics, have been shrugging off the talismanic leader’s achievements by suggesting that the success is down to the great squad that MI boasts off, besides questioning whether Rohit can achieve the same with other teams.

Hitting back at the detractors, Rohit Sharma, in a recent interview to PTI, said that Mumbai Indians did not become a world-beating unit overnight. He added that there is a certain way and direction in which both he and the franchise wants to go besides adding that the major reason behind Mumbai Indians’ success is that they do not believe in too much chopping and changing, something that also has been his philosophy as a leader.

”Yeah, we have a (Kieron) Pollard, a Hardik (Pandya), (Jasprit) Bumrah but has anybody thought why this team is successful? he asked

”Lot of people, I hear say that can he (Rohit) do it with other teams? Firstly, why shall I need to do it with other teams? There is a certain way this franchise wants to go and same direction I want to go as well, both as a player and leader,” he explained.

“Did this team become good overnight? No. It’s just that this franchise doesn’t believe in chopping and changing. And every player, including Rohit Sharma, was available (2011) at auctions. Just that MI picked and believed in building a team.” Rohit said.

Rohit Sharma explains why Mumbai Indians went for Trent Boult in the trading window

One of the many things that Mumbai Indians are so good at as compared to other teams is the way they plug the gaps in their squad. That was particularly reminiscent when they pursued strongly for New Zealand pacer, Trent Boult, who was earlier a part of the Delhi Capitals set-up.

Rohit explained that the reason behind pushing so hard for Boult was that MI wanted a bowler who could swing the ball and take wickets upfront, something that was on full show this season, as the Kiwi pacer wreaked havoc on the opposition top-order with consistent wickets in the powerplay.

“Trent Boult was with Delhi last year and before that with Sunrisers. We needed someone to provide wickets upfront and who could swing the ball,” Rohit said. We strongly pursued him and got him from Capitals, something I am proud of.”

Rohit Sharma also went on to laud the Mumbai Indians management for the manner in which they set-up the bio-bubble and provided them with almost every facility to ensure that the players did not feel claustrophobic.

“MI in a year where everything was uncertain, created a happy space for us. 80 days in a bio-bubble never felt claustrophobic. Every little aspect was taken care of and the preparation started in June in a bio-secure environment with all net bowlers and Indian players,” he said.

Also Read- I Was Constantly Communicating With BCCI And Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma