21 May,2017 12:25 PM IST | Mumbai | Subodh Mayure
Childhood coach Dinesh Lad has words of advice for MI skipper Rohit Sharma and RPS pacer Shardul Thakur, who face each other in tonight’s IPL final
MI skipper Rohit Sharma and RPS pacer Shardul Thakur
Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma and Rising Pune Supergiant pacer Shardul Thakur, who learnt their cricketing skills from childhood coach Dinesh Lad, will be up against each other in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final today. Though Lad is impressed by Shardul's performance and handling of IPL pressure, he is not satisfied with Rohit's IPL-10 show.
Rohit, who has amassed 4183 runs in 158 IPL games overall, has been able to score 309 in 16 matches -- his worst performance across all editions.
"Rohit's failure against spinners is more of a mental block; there is no technical flaw in his batting. It could well be that he is playing predetermined shots against the spinners. It is important for him to come out of the mental block as early as possible and be more focused while facing the spinners," Lad told mid-day on Saturday.
"Since he has come back from injury, he may have not had enough batting practice, but he is surely playing a few shots early. I expected much more from a batsman like him," said Lad, who was Rohit's coach at Swami Vivekanand International School (Borivli).
Dinesh Lad
Lad would have liked to see Rohit opening the innings for MI, but felt the team lacked options in the middle order and hence Rohit was made to bat in the middle order.
Lad, however, is pleased to see his other ward -- pacer Thakur -- doing well in the T20 extravaganza. Thakur, who played only one game in IPL-9, grabbed the opportunity this time and has taken 11 wickets in as many matches this season. The Palghar pacer is set to play his first IPL final. His best performance came against his former team, Kings XI Punjab against whom he claimed three for 19 recently.
"Shardul was frustrated during IPL 2015 and 2016 because he played in only one game. I had to urge him on several occasions to be patient. When Pune picked him this season and captain (Steven Smith) as well as coach (Stephen Fleming) showed confidence in him, it was a turning point for Shardul. Though IPL is a batsman-dominated game, he looked composed and played without pressure," said the coach.
Ahead of the final, the coach's words of wisdom for Thakur are: "Don't strive for extra speed or variations. Just stick to your basics, which are good line and length; avoid bowling short-pitched deliveries."
