Mumbai Indians all-rounder Cameron Green on Monday brushed aside concerns about the form of team captain Rohit Sharma, who has been enduring a tough Indian Premier League season with the bat.
In 10 matches he has played so far, Rohit has scored a mere 184 runs at 18.39 with only one half-century.
With MI placed at the sixth spot, all eyes will be on Rohit when the home side take on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
“Absolutely not,” Green told reporters when asked if there have been any discussions on Rohit’s form in the MI camp.
“A legend that Rohit is, especially with Mumbai and everything that he has done in his career, we actually back him. He could come back into the form any time. He has batted beautifully in a few games, showing really good tempo at the top, so we are absolutely backing him.”
Green, who replaced Rohit as opener against Chennai Super Kings, said he was happy to bat at any position for his side.
“Hopefully, everything we learned in the first 10 games would hold us in good stead for that (later) part. (From) now, to the end of the tournament, (it) is going to be ruthless.
“If you win a game you are second, but if you lose a couple of games, you are second last. We just got to put our best performance out there and we know we got an incredible team,” said the Australian.
Green said MI are not going to tinker with their approach to attack from the word go, even if it does not come off collectively.
“Our discussions have been the same way. Being aggressive in the powerplay, it could come off, sometimes it may not. But the messaging is clear from the coaching staff.
“Sometimes you have to be clever on different wickets where it’s not so good to bat on. But we have got incredible guys to bat around me. A lot of good cricketing brains around me,” he said.
RCB batter Kedar Jadhav, a recent addition to the team from the commentary box, said impact player rule has shaken up a few things.
“The impact player rule has made the teams and players braver and fearless. They have an extra batter as a cushion, so obviously they are expressing more and instead of 180 there are more totals above 200,” he said.
Jadhav said it’s going to be a tough fight for most of the teams who are in contention of making it to the playoffs.
“If we leave out one or two teams, most of the teams are in contention to get to the top four. It is pretty wide open at this moment,” he said.
The senior batter said his form in the Ranji Trophy and experience of playing in the IPL brought him back on the field this season with the RCB side.
“I have played enough cricket to understand that training every day does help. It is important to have a fresh mindset, give (yourself) some space, so that hunger comes back for scoring runs and for batting long. I took a break after the Ranji Trophy but trained before the IPL,” he added.
Jadhav said Virat Kohli’s aggression and attitude worked well for whichever team he plays for.
“That is the tagline of RCB – play bold (and) I think it came from only Virat Kohli. He has a strong personality, likes to lead from the front. Whatever it is, batting or bowling, he wants to contribute in winning games whichever teams he plays for.
“It definitely rubs off on the team. The players want to perform close to that level, or close to that intensity he brings in, in his batting or when he is doing practice,” Jadhav added.