Mumbai Indians have no plans to rest ace India pacer Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the T20 World Cup even though they are out of contention for the IPL playoffs, said batting coach Kieron Pollard.
MI defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets here on Monday after Suryakumar Yadav (102 not out) struck his second IPL century to help his team chase down a target of 174 with 16 balls to spare.
The win helped MI end their four-match losing streak and record only their fourth win in 12 matches.
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“I certainly haven’t had any discussions about that,” Pollard told media after the game when asked if there are any plans to rest Bumrah from MI’s remaining two matches keeping in mind the upcoming T20 World Cup.
“I don’t think that’s my role and function at this point in time. But let’s see what happens. We are all here to play an entire IPL. Sometimes when we think too far ahead of different things, thinking about World Cups, all these things could affect performances even from before the team was selected.
“For us and in our camp, the most important thing is finishing off the IPL and let’s see what happens after that. When he leaves the IPL and he goes into the Indian team, I think that’s where that concession will take place.”
MI’s last IPL game is against Lucknow Super Giants at home on May 17. The T20 World Cup, to be co-hosted by USA and the West Indies, will begin on June 1.
Pollard said as a batting coach the most difficult aspect of coaching an all-round batter like Suryakumar is to curb his attacking instinct.
“He’s one, who, by nature, instinctively, is very aggressive. He wants to take the bowler’s on more often than not. At times it’s just a matter of understanding the situation and respecting the new ball when it’s moving around,” Pollard said.
“If the conditions are not suitable for a certain amount of shot making, having that discipline in order to be there for a period of time and they’ll get into your work.
“I think that would be the hardest thing — to try to curb the attacking instinct. But it’s not something you want to curb too much and get them in a defensive frame of mind because of the direction the sport is heading now in terms of the amount of runs being scored.”
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