For last six to eight months I am used to playing without Jasprit Bumrah: MI skipper Rohit Sharma

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 3 (ANI): Following his team’s 8-wicket defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma said that for the last six to eight months, he is used to playing without star pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

With the comprehensive batting of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s duo Virat Kohli and skipper Faf du Plessis, RCB wiped out MI on Sunday at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

While fans continue to wait to see Bumrah back on the field with his unique bowling action, he has been unable to join the team due to a recurring injury. He has attempted to make a comeback more than once since suffering a back injury in August which ruled him out of the Asia Cup. Initially, the injury did not seem serious as he was named in India’s T20 World Cup squad in September and even played the last two T20Is against Australia on September 23 and 25. Sandeep Warrier replaced the star pacer in the Mumbai Indians squad.

“From the last six to eight months I am used to playing without Jasprit Bumrah. Of course this is a different setup but someone needs to put their hand up and step up. We can’t keep dwelling on it. Injuries are not in our control, we can’t do much about it. The other guys in the setup are quite talented as well,” Rohit said in a post-match presentation.

Mumbai Indians suffered defeat in their first match of the season and did not have an ideal start as they lost wickets early in the first innings.

Batter Tilak Verma’s unbeaten 84 off 46 balls steered the innings and with the effective contribution of Nehal Wadhera and Hrithik Shokeen helped Mumbai put up a score of 171/7 which Bangalore achieved with ease by the combined performance of RCB skipper and Kohli.

“Didn’t have a great start with the bat in the first six overs. But, it was a really good effort from Tilak (MI batter Tilak Verma) and a few other batters. But, we didn’t execute well with the ball. It was a good pitch to bat on,” Rohit said.

Asked about Tilak Verma’s performance, MI skipper added, “He is a positive person, quite talented as well. Some of the shots he played, showed a lot of courage. Hats off to Tilak (Tilak Verma) to get us to a competitive total. It was a good pitch to bat on.”

Chinnaswamy Stadium is known for batters’ friendly wickets and reflecting that Rohit said that his team may have scored 30-40 more.

“We didn’t set any target but we didn’t even bat to half of our potential and we got to 170. Probably 30-40 runs more would have been ideal. We need to give them that support. Just the first game of the season, there’s a lot to look forward to.” Rohit concluded.

MI after losing in the first match will look for a win in their second match with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday at the home venue of Wankhede Stadium. Whereas RCB will play their next match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Thursday.