IPL 2018: Rohit Sharma speaks about the 'right' way to handle Caribbean cricketers

Rohit scored 94 runs against RCB to guide his team towards first IPL 2018 victory.

Rohit Sharma | IANS

Evin Lewis has played a couple of good knocks for Mumbai Indians in last two matches. His 42-ball 65 runs innings against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ended up on the winning side, as MI secured their first victory of IPL 2018.

When asked about Rohit Sharma's guidance for the young West Indies cricketer, he said Caribbean cricketers can't be guided and leaving them to do ‘their thing’ is one way to get the best out of them. 

Rohit and Lewis had put up a match-winning stand of 108 runs after Mumbai lost a couple of wickets for naught. Skipper Rohit (94) helped Mumbai to a cross the 200 mark. They remained successful in beating Virat Kohli's RCB by 46 runs.

“You don’t guide West Indian players at all. You have to let them be themselves. If you try and talk to them and tell them, ‘this is how you should defend’, ‘this is how you should play’, (the) opposite (happens). Nothing will fall in place. It is better that we let them to (do) their thing and that’s how you get the best out of them,” Rohit told media post Mumbai’s win.

“One thing I have learn from handling Kieron Pollard because he is with the team and I don’t tell him anything, so I guess it will be the same with Evin Lewis because naturally, he is the striker of the ball, so you should not complicate things with him and allow him the way he wants to play, sometimes it will come off , sometimes it won’t, the day it comes off, he will win you games on his own, for such kind of players you don’t talk much you have to let them be themselves, most of the times,” Rohit added.

Rohit's return in form ensured MI doesn't face their fourth consecutive defeat of IPL 2018. Leading from the front, the Mumbai batsman showed a good fight with the bat when his team was down hopelessly.

Making sure that the run-rate keeps flying high, he and Lewis counter attacked the RCB bowlers. Rohit revealed his plan was to put them under pressure. “Not really, when you are batting you have to put pressure on the bowlers — whether it is spinners or fast bowlers you should, the time you allow them to bowl the day they want to bowl, that is when you will put yourself under pressure.”

“We never had any discussion about which bowler to target, like I said we had left-right combination going all the way through, when off-spinners are bowling, right-handers are most likely to take that chances and when leg spinners are bowling left-handers will take most of the chances, that happens everywhere with all the team, that is the planning,” he added.

 
 

By Sihyeu Singh - 18 Apr, 2018

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