Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma on Monday clarified that Hardik Pandya was not comfortable bowling, indicating that the star all-rounder would not bowl in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday.
Sharma said they are assessing Hardik, who has not bowled at all in this season's IPL, every few games. "And we have left all that decision to him. If he feels comfortable, he will be happy to bowl. At the moment he is not feeling comfortable. He is having some niggle," said Sharma on the eve of the final.
Sharma said that the team did not want to put pressure on the players and wanted them to take their own decisions.
"It would have been great to have him bowl. But throughout the season we have given him that cushion being in that comfort zone and making sure that he takes care of his body and he has done that really well," Sharma said.
On the other side, Mumbai Indians (MI) speedster Trent Boult is the highest wicket-taker in powerplays with 14 wickets and the majority of his success in those six-over spells has come against Delhi Capitals (DC), their oppoenets in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday. Of his six wickets in the three matches against DC this season, five have come in powerplays.
Talking about the impact of Boult, Sharma said, "We always wanted somebody who could get those wickets for us early in the powerplay with the new ball. We looked across the world and, obviously, it is a no-brainer that he is the best bowler with the new ball when it comes to swinging the new ball back into the batsmen, and to a left-hander taking the ball away. He is the best in the business."
