Kieron Pollard gives an update on Rohit Sharma’s fitness for IPL 2020

The defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) once again lost the match in what was the side’s second Super Over clash in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League. MI was up against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in a nail-biting affair at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Batting first, Mumbai ended up with 176/6 on the board in the 20 overs. Chasing this target, Punjab managed to bring the equation down to “2 off last 1 ball”. However, a run out of Chris Jordan while he was completing the second run meant that the game went into the super over.

The tight bowling and pin-point yorkers by Mumbai’s Jasprit Bumrah and Punjab’s Mohammed Shami ensured that the opposition batsmen did not score more than 5 runs in the first Super Over. However, in the second Super Over clash, Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal easily scored 12 runs in reply to Mumbai Indians 11 runs to clinch the match.

The loss against Punjab didn’t affect Mumbai’s position in the points table as it is still placed at second. However, there is bad news for the four-time champions. In the post-match presentation, instead of captain Rohit Sharma, all-rounder Kieron Pollard came to interact with the presenters. Revealing the reason for Rohit’s absence, Pollard said that the former is unwell. It can be a big shock for Mumbai considering that the tournament is progressing towards the business end.

Rohit Sharma is a fighter: Kieron Pollard
Though Pollard wasn’t completely aware of what was wrong with the MI skipper, he remarked that the management is supervising Rohit’s condition. The West Indies great further added that Rohit will be back soon as he is a fighter.

“I was told that he’s (Rohit) not feeling well, that’s why I’m here to chat with you guys. We’ll see what happens but he’s a fighter,” Pollard stated in the post-match presentation.

Though Mumbai lost the match yesterday, Bumrah needs to be acknowledged for his brilliant bowling as in the super over he gave only 5 runs and took the wickets of both Nicholas Pooran and KL Rahul. Lauding the Indian pacer for his expertise in the death overs, Pollard reckoned that Bumrah is a world-class cricketer and he has taken over the mantle of being the best bowler for MI from Lasith Malinga.

“He’s (Bumrah) a world-class cricketer. He has been number one in a couple of formats for a long period of time. He has learned and has gone leaps and bounds for us at Mumbai Indians in a run of while and so. We have comfort in him. A couple of years ago, we had a fit and fair Lasith Malinga and he (Bumrah) has taken over that mantle now and so,” the Trinidad all-rounder concluded.