Mumbai Indians’ newly-appointed head coach Mark Boucher is keen to lift the team ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season and get them back to the standards that is expected of them from their fans.

With the IPL 2023 mini-auction around the corner, the five-time champions are already in the process of revamping their squad.

“Yeah look I think the last year we didn’t really perform as we wanted. We’ve spoken about that. Sometimes it’s not a bad thing to go through a bit of time where maybe you don’t win a lot. I think the lessons you’ve learnt are important. We have sat down and spoken about the lessons there and that’s the most important thing,” Boucher told mumbaiindians.com.

“You can get knocked down but you’ve got to get up again and for me, this year is about that getting up stage. There won’t be any complacency. A lot of the guys are really looking forward to getting Mumbai Indians back to where they should be and that’s at the top of the table. We’ve got to play some good cricket. We’ve got to respect other oppositions as well, which we will do. But we’ve got to try and look after ourselves and make sure that everyone is pulling in the right direction to get us back on the top again. And that’s my job as a coach to try and get them in that sort of a space. But as I said before, you have to enjoy the competition and enjoy the challenge ahead,” he added.

According to Boucher, MI will benefit from the home advantage with fans at the Wankhede Stadium cheering for them in the upcoming season.

“Hometown advantage is something that is always going to be there for all IPL teams. I haven’t played a lot of cricket here, I have played one or two internationals here. But speaking to the Mumbai Indians guys and my support staff, I think it is a big advantage to play here. Not necessarily because of the wicket that you play on, but I think the fan base is very important. And if we can get some good fans getting behind us if we are playing well, it is going to be a plus to play against any team here and use the hometown advantage to the best of our ability as well. We are really looking forward to seeing some good support. Hopefully the cricket can be up there as well and we can play some good cricket. Let’s use the hometown advantage.”

“It's special to have the Mumbai Indians fanbase behind us,” he remarked.

It will be his first stint in India as a coach and Mark Boucher is looking forward to it.

“Yeah, look it’s a massive opportunity for me. Being the head coach of Mumbai Indians is a big role to fulfil. I am really looking forward to it. It is a big challenge. It’s quite intimidating. I flew into Mumbai the other day and you see the crowds and you know that you are going to be representing them, which is quite nerve-wracking. But I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully I can bring some good success to the franchise and have some fun along the way as well. That’s important as well. I want to enjoy this opportunity and hopefully do well and get the best out of the players,” he stated.

(With mumbaiindians.com inputs)