IPL 2022: ‘There are not many guys from Mumbai’, MI skipper Rohit Sharma dismisses talks of home advantage

The league matches of IPL 15 are being held across four international standard venues in Mumbai and Pune.

Rohit Sharma | BCCI/IPLMumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday (April 5) dismissed the talks of having the full-on advantage of playing IPL 2022 league matches in Mumbai, saying they don’t have many players in their squad from Mumbai.

Notably, the league matches are being held across four international standard venues in Mumbai and Pune.

While the Wankhede Stadium and DY Patil Stadium have been assigned 20 matches each for the hosting, Brabourne Stadium and MCA Stadium have been allocated 15 games each.

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"Speaking of home advantage, I believe, except me and Surya, there are not many guys from Mumbai. Like I said before, it's a relatively new team not many of these guys have played in the climatic conditions of the city of Mumbai. They must have played a few games, but not a lot of games. So, I personally don't believe it's a full-on advantage. Yes, we have been practicing here in Mumbai for a very long time now. But not a lot of these guys have not played a lot of games," said Rohit Sharma, as quoted by ANI.

"So yes, being in Mumbai, being a home team, being a Mumbai franchisee that's an addition. But if I really want to talk about the skills of having been used in these types of conditions, that has not been done yet. Because I don't totally believe in this advantage. If the IPL would have happened last year in Mumbai. Yes, it would be an advantage as a lot of players from last year had played in Mumbai," he added.

The MI captain further said that he always considered Sachin Tendulkar as his inspiration for playing cricket.

"My inspiration has always been Sachin Tendulkar. Since I was, I think eight or nine years I started watching him and what he's done in his career. When it comes to playing cricket, I don't think anyone can achieve that. And, over the period of 25 years, he has managed to carry the entire responsibility of the team on his shoulder. It is not easy," said Rohit.

"So, for me, he is the one and I always followed him as to what he's done in his career, how he's carried himself, on and off the field. And the most striking thing about him is his humility towards life, not in just cricket, but he is very humble as a person. After achieving so much, it's not easy to stay humble, but he's managed to do so," he added.

Mumbai Indians are yet to register a win in the IPL 2022 season, losing to Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals in the first two fixtures. The five-time champions will face Kolkata Knight Riders in their next match on Wednesday (April 6).

(With ANI inputs)

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 06 Apr, 2022

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