Mumbai Indians (MI) have been dealt a major blow ahead of their first game in IPL6 2013 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) with Sri Lanka's pace ace Lasith Malinga being ruled out with an injury.
MI skipper, Ricky Ponting confirmed on the eve of the clash that the Sri Lanka slinger will join the squad ahead of their second tie.
“Lasith is going to miss out tomorrow night,” Ponting told the gathered media. “He has a sore back and the problem is just lingering around for a while. So, we’ve decided to keep him back in Sri Lanka until April 5.
“It’s disappointing not to have him in the first game. It would’ve have been nice to have the leading T20 fast bowler in the world but that’s not the case. We wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully he’ll be okay for the next game,” said the former Australian captain.
Ponting, however, was confident of the other overseas options at his disposal to replace MI’s highest wicket-taker in the IPL.
“Among overseas players we’ve got guys like Jacob Oram, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Mitchell Johnson, who can all replace Malinga if required,” he said.
Ponting was also glad to finally see his entire squad together after the arrival of the missing big Indian players and the foreign recruits.
“Most of the international players have arrived over the last few days and we’ve enjoyed our time here in Bangalore already. The practice session shaped up well and we hope the weather remains good tomorrow,” Ponting said, referring to the intermittent showers experienced in Bangalore over the last few days.
Returning to play in the IPL after his stint in the first season, Ponting admitted that bringing players of multiple nationalities and background together in a dressing room for a two-month tournament is one of the biggest challenges faced by the IPL captains.
However, he believes that the presence of reputed senior players in the MI camp will make his task easier.
“It is a challenge because you don’t get your squad of players together until just before the start of the first game."
The Mumbai Indians have been one of the strongest teams in the league but the title has eluded them. Ponting refused to read into the past and insisted on taking it one step at a time in the 2013 season.
“There are a few teams who haven’t yet won the IPL and they all have a fantastic set of players,” he said. “Right now we’re not thinking about winning the IPL. All we can do is try to win Thursday’s game. If we can keep our squad of players fit and healthy for the whole two months, I’m sure that at the end of the tournament Mumbai Indians will be right up there,” Ponting concluded.
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IPL6 2013: Malinga blow for Mumbai Indians
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