IPL 2023: “Great opportunity for some of our young boys to show up,” says MI head coach Mark Boucher

Boucher is expecting the youngsters to stand up in this year's IPL.

Mumbai Indians (MI), the five-time IPL winners, have failed to make a mark in the cash-rich tournament for the last two seasons and it has a lot to do with the fact that their playing squad has been overhauled.

Before the IPL 2022 mega-auction, MI released some of their key players like Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya and invested in young guns such as Dewald Brevis and Tilak Verma.

Having gained some experience in the league, MI head coach Mark Boucher is expecting the youngsters to stand up and be counted in this edition of the Indian Premier League.

While MI suffered an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of RCB on Monday (April 3), Tilak Varma – the find of last season – once again showed a lot of promise along with Nehal Wadhera. Varma slammed 84* off 46 balls whereas Wadehra scored 21 off 13 deliveries.

"The IPL is a massive event and it's going to be a great opportunity for some of our young boys to really show up," Boucher said in a media release issued by MI.

"The way Mumbai Indians have selected their squads over the last few years has been, how you invest in youngsters for the future. It's now time for those youngsters to show up and basically get the opportunities," he added.

MI's bowling coach Shane Bond credited Tilak Verma for helping MI post the total of 171/7 on the board.

"Tilak played brilliantly, and so did the other youngsters," he said.

Talking about his innings, Tilak said, "I always back my shots, and I was doing the same thing here. I was asking my partners what could be a good total here and going accordingly."

(With PTI Inputs)