Mitchell Johnson is a lively bloke and he definitely is at his supreme best when he is charged up. During his prime for Australia, Johnson often was the fly in the ointment for the opponents when he used to be charged up. A charged up and fiery Johnson was the delight of every captain, as the left arm pacer often wrecked menace with a positive attitude.
IPL 2016 might not have been ideal for Johnson, but the pacer is still optimistic. After representing the Kings XI Punjab in a few games, Johnson was benched as he couldn’t get among the wickets. However, Johnson, in a recent chat admitted that he was still fully galvanized and eager to have a go in the middle. “It took two weeks to get the real desire,” Johnson said. “I thought I had it, I felt really good with the ball in my hand, but I probably wasn’t quite there until two weeks into the tournament.”
Recounting a small episode where he literally hurt fellow Aussie Glenn Maxwell recently, Johnson said, “I hit ‘Maxi’ in the thumb in Hyderabad.”I actually told him not to come into my net because I had just been told I got dropped. “I said ‘don’t come into my net, mate, I’m not in the mood.’ No-one else was coming into the net and he came in, I had just bowled to one of our young guys, Manan Vohra, who I gave an absolute barrage to. “Then Maxi came in, three balls later he’s backed away to try to cut me and I just followed him and hit him on the thumb.”Not that I was trying to intentionally hit him but I just followed him. “Definitely, the fire is there. It just took two weeks longer than I wanted it to.”
“I think when I finished I mellowed out a bit,” he said. “Even towards the end, I felt a bit too ‘matey’ on the field and didn’t really get into the contest.”I didn’t really get into the contest at the start of this tournament. “That’s where I’ve noticed a difference two weeks in, I’ve got into the contest in the nets, just need to get out there and play,” Johnson concluded.