‘Wankhede Stadium is our fortress'
After starting the day with the ceremonious opening bell ring at the Bombay stock exchange, Ricky Ponting and Rohit Sharma stroked questions from journalists with equal élan as on the field during the season’s opening press conference.
Both Captain and Head Coach seemed pretty confident about their IPL campaign this year. When asked about the Wankhede Stadium match atmosphere where the team is currently training for their IPL offensive, Ponting commented, “The atmosphere at Wankhede is amazing and we want to make it our fortress”. With the ‘MI Champ Camp’ as it is called, going on in full swing after the ICC World Twenty20 each player seems to be at the peak of their abilities. “Bumrah is stronger now and now we are finally seeing him bowl the way we always knew he can” says Ponting who acknowledged his evolution and development as a bowler. Speaking on Bumrah’s mentor Malinga, Ponting said, “Malinga will soon join the squad. He will go through a fitness test as well.” The Aussie went on to praise the likes of Lendll Simmons and Jos Buttler who he termed as “among the top 4-5 T20 batsmen in the world.”
Ponting told the press that he loves coaching and working with the young Mumbai Indians players. That’s why he started his IPL planning way back. “My planning for 2016 IPL Season started when the last season ended”. He believes that the MI team spirit can take the team ahead, as he told the press “There’s no one winning formula. We all respect each other in the MI dressing room and we all work towards one goal – WIN.”
When asked about his strategy for the team this IPL season, Sharma spoke about taking an early lead on wins as part of his winning strategy this season, “It is very important to get some wins on the board at the start of the tournament and then carry the momentum ahead.” He said that if needed, he’d make the necessary changes to the batting order. “I will open the innings for the first 4-5 games. If the team balance needs me in the middle order, I’m open to that too.”
Commenting on his strategy to win the IPL opener, he made it very clear that firstly “Wankhede is our fortress” and that no one can just waltz in and change that. He elaborated that the “Bowlers at Wankhede need to bowl to take wickets and not just to survive. They should have an aggressive mindset.” And that is how he feels Mumbai Indians will take down debutant Rising Pune Supergiants and others that follow.
