IPL 2017: Rohit Sharma confirms he will play in MI’s opener against Rising Pune Supergiant

Rohit spoke about his fitness

What’s the story?

In the midst of an injury crisis that seems to be plaguing several teams ahead of IPL 2017, Rohit Sharma gave the Mumbai Indians fans some good news as he admitted that he was fit and ready to play in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League.

The Indian opener hasn’t played for India since October 2016 and suffered a setback just ahead of the IPL as he missed out on the Deodhar Trophy where he was set to lead India Blue. But he has confirmed that he is ready and will play from the start of the IPL.

Speaking at the pre-season press conference, Rohit Sharma said: “Everything is fine and I’m waiting to get back onto the field. Yesterday was our practice game, I played full 40 overs without any issues, so looking good. I missed a lot of games but injuries are part & parcel of a sportsman's career. I was just focusing on how quickly I could get back.

“When you have a big injury, you tend to lose a lot of muscle and that weakens your strength. The big challenge for me was to gain that muscle back first, become a lot stronger. A lot of things I focused on, thankfully, I am back on the field, back on my feet, ready to play again.”

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In case you didn’t know...

Rohit Sharma has been battling with injuries throughout the home season, which has restricted the games that he has played for India. He played a couple of games for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy but missed the Deodhar Trophy that followed it.

The Details

With a settled squad at their disposal, Mumbai Indians had a quiet time at the IPL Auction 2017 where they bought just seven players and just two players (K Gowtham and Karn Sharma) for more than their base price. But going into the tournament, there were some fitness concerns, mainly to their captain but those fears have been allayed by Rohit’s words during the pre-season press conference.

WI duo of Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons will join the team in Pune on Apil 5 for the pre-match training while the Sri Lankan duo of Asela Gunaratne and Lasith Malinga are expected to join ahead of MI’s second game of the season.

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What's next?

Mumbai Indians begin their campaign with an away game against a new-look Rising Pune Supergiant side led by Steve Smith on April 6.

Author's Take

The fact that Rohit Sharma is fit is not just good news for Mumbai Indians fans but also Indian supporters as it will finally give him the opportunity to play a few competitive games ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in June.