Mumbai coach gives massive update on Rohit Sharma’s availability for their first match against Bangalore in Indian T20 League

The Mumbai franchise are all set to start their 2023 Indian T20 League campaign with a match against the Bangalore franchise at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium. However, there were speculations that the Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma could miss the 1st game due to health issues. Rohit also missed the captains’ photoshoot at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad ahead of the tournament.

However, Mumbai’s head coach Mark Boucher has cleared all the speculations over Rohit’s fitness and confirmed that he is available for tonight’s game against Bangalore. Boucher also confirmed the availability of Jofra Archer for the match and said that he is 100% fit to play.

‘He’s not had a lot of time to himself…’ – Boucher

“Yes, Rohit is fit. He has trained the last two days and is 100 per cent ready to go. I think he didn’t feel particularly well that morning (Friday) and just as a precaution, we told him to stay at home. There are a lot of photo shoots the boys have had to do. He’s not had a lot of time to himself so we thought it was better,” said the Mumbai coach during the press conference on Saturday.

“Jofra is one hundred percent ready for tomorrow. He skipped the optional training session and felt that he was ready to go for tomorrow’s (2 April) game against RCB. We are really happy with his progression in the last couple of days since he has been here,” he further added.

There are also reports that Rohit can miss a few games for Mumbai in the ongoing season to manage his workload and Suraykumar Yadav would be leading the side in his absence. Although, Rohit will be traveling with the team throughout the season to guide Suryakumar.

Mumbai would look to forget their dismal performance last season, where they finished in the last position on the points table and take a fresh start. The five-time champions won only four out of their 14 league matches in the previous season. The main concern for Mumbai would be the unavailability of Jasprit Bumrah. However, the arrival of Jofra Archer could bring balance to their pace attack.