Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma feels that a tournament like IPL is the ideal preparation for the ICC World Cup as it allows a player to analyze where they stand in the lead up to the showpiece event. He indirectly played down the workload management saying that it is actually the match practice which keeps a player in good shape for match conditions.
Ahead of the much-awaited final of IPL 2019, Rohit Sharma stated that he had left the decision on Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya to decide on their workload during the course of the tournament. Both Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah are integral members of the Indian World Cup squad. They will look to ensure they travel to England without any sort of niggles for the big tournament.
Rohit Sharma was present in the mandatory press conference on Friday ahead of the final against Chennai Super Kings. Meanwhile, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene was also present. However, no representatives from CSK were present. It is learnt that CSK skipper MS Dhoni and head coach Stephen Fleming was supposed to discuss a few things ahead of the final.
“We spoke at the start of the tournament that we will assess each one of them and see where they are at and how they feel about their body as the tournament progresses. It is more of an individual thing than what we decided for them,” Rohit Sharma said.
“Like in Jasprit’s case, he is someone who likes to play games to make sure that he is in a good rhythm. We spoke at any given stage, if he feels the need to rest, we were open for it. Our physios have monitored him quite well. There was constant feedback from Jasprit as well. So far there are no issues with either of them — Hardik or Jasprit. It has to come from them and they want to continue playing.”
Hardik Pandya has been in the greatest form in his lifetime. The way he has been hitting the ball goes onto suggest the improvement in his game in the last few months. His exceptional form will definitely make him one of the most important players for India in the upcoming World Cup. Hardik’s form will be of immense importance in the World Cup.
“How their form is the most important thing, they are really doing well. Anyone who plays the IPL and goes to a big tournament (like the World Cup) I feel it keeps them very much in touch with their game. It is a great tournament to hit form. Hardik is one example,” Rohit Sharma further added.
“He was injured before the IPL, missed few games as well (for India), now he has done tremendously well for us. You can judge yourself where you are ahead of a big tournament like the World Cup,” he added.
This will be the 4th time that CSK and MI will contest in the IPL final. Rohit Sharma said that with both teams in same position, they are hoping to keep focused for the job at hand. “It (Hyderabad) is a neutral venue. Both teams have played here so they are very much aware of the conditions. It is not going to be a major factor. Important will be to assess the pitch as quickly as we can, see what the ideal score will be if we bat first,” he said.