Defending champions Mumbai Indians will begin their IPL 2020 campaign against Chennai Super Kings on September 19 at the Dubai International Stadium. Ahead of the tournament opener, Mumbai Indians’ skipper Rohit Sharma sheds light on their winless run in the UAE in 2014.
Incidentally, the four-time IPL champions had a horrible run when IPL took place in the middle-east back in 2014. They lost all the five matches that they played in the UAE.
The Rohit Sharma-led side did make it to the playoffs but a couple of wins in UAE would have seen them finish in top two, thus giving them two chances to qualify for the final. Mumbai Indians lost to Chennai Super Kings in the Eliminator in 2014.
Rohit sheds light on Mumbai Indians’ winless run in the UAE
Speaking on the same, Rohit Sharma seemed unfazed and don’t want to remember the history. He also said that they have only two players from the squad and the thought process of the players are completely different. Further, Rohit stressed on the fact that they did exceedingly well after returning to India.
“We have only 2-3 players from that squad. I am not too fussed about it. Yes, we didn’t have a great experience (in 2014). But the team is completely different now, the thought process and everything is different,” he said.
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“We are talking about 6 years, it’s a lot of time and I think we did well after coming back from the UAE to India. As I said, understanding the conditions and the pitches here will be very, very crucial and we are giving a lot of thought and emphasis on that,” he added.
Back in 2014, Mumbai Indians lost to Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in UAE. The spin department continues to be their weak link with Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya being the frontline spinners. The other slower bowlers Jayant Yadav and Anukul Roy are yet to make a mark in the competition.