A well-balanced side, says Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma said the IPL is a great platform for young Indian players to compete with some of the best in the world.

“It has been going on for eight years now; we play with each other for a couple of months and against each other for the rest of the year.

“The MI chose a lot of young Indian talent in the player auction and with the 15-16 players that we have retained, it looks a very well balanced squad. We have had a very good preparation and we hope that all the youngsters would be able to deliver during the tournament.’’

Dismissing suggestions that Lasith Malinga is a spent force, Sharma said: “He is an experienced campaigner and a dangerous bowler. He has proven it time and again over the years, especially for MI. When we won the 2013 championship, he was an integral part of the team; he was the key wicket-taker for us in that season. For someone like Malinga, it is just a matter of one game. I am sure he knows his body well and that he is raring to go.’’

On Malinga’s declining form coach Ricky Ponting said there have been quite a lot of negative thoughts coming about him after the World Cup.

Completely different

“We have to understand that the one-day format has become completely different for the bowlers from what it earlier was. If you look at the stats of all the bowlers, the economy rates of most of the bowlers have only gone up after the World Cup. There are only a few — Trent Boult and Mitchell Starc — whose economy rates are actually quite low.

“I believe now he (Malinga) is best suited to T20 cricket. He has to bowl four overs. The skills he has for T20 are outstanding. He executes the yorkers, the slower balls, the bouncers,” he said.