"I was mentally prepared": Mahipal Lomror on being an impact player for RCB

Mahipal Lomror (Pic: Instagram/mahipal_lomror)

In an IPL 2024 match against Punjab Kings on Monday, Mahipal Lomror gave Royal Challengers Bengaluru two options an "impact player" who can snatch the game away from opponents and a successor to Dinesh Karthik who is making his last IPL appearance.

While chasing the target of 177 runs against PBKS, Lomror replaced Yash Dayal as an impact player. The left-hander scored 17 runs in just eight deliveries. His knock proved to be valuable for the side during the chase. Dinesh Karthik who made quick-fire 28 runs also played a crucial role for Bengaluru. RCB won the match by defeating PBKS by wickets.

But his maiden foray into the world of 'Impact Players' taught Lomror how weird that role could be, particularly because of its hurried nature.

"Being an impact player is quite weird when I went into bat. The role is such you have to be ready as you can get a call at any time to go in", Mahipal Lomror said in the post-match conference.

He also mentioned that the management previously communicated to him about the possibility of him being used as an impact player against Punjab.

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As the name suggests, you have to make an impact on the game from the word go. The management had discussed it last night. They told me: 'If we are chasing, we might use you down the order.' So mentally, I was prepared.

In the previous edition, RCB sent Anuj Rawat twice to bat at the number eight position similar to what Lomror did on Monday.

On the other 10 occasions, it was either a bowler or a top/middle-order batter who walked in as 'Impact Player.' However, Rawat could not make the desired impact as he could score only 16 runs off 27 balls in those two games.

Perhaps, that failed experiment prompted the RCB think tank to give that duty to the big-hitting Lomror in this IPL. The Rajasthan-born player, who joined Royal Challengers ahead of IPL 2022 from Rajasthan Royals, was ready for the grind too as it was his best chance to get a place in the eleven.

The 24-year-old is aware of the fact that RCB has a strong batting lineup and the only option left with him is to feature as an impact player. "This is what the team management wants me to prepare for. They are very clear because we have a really strong batting lineup, and this is the only place where they can use me", he said.

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Lomror has been quietly upskilling himself at nets once the RCB top brass conveyed their decision. Earlier, I used to bat up the order, and that gave me more balls to bat. But now as an Impact sub, there's not going to be many balls to play. So, whenever I'm going into nets, I just try and hit boundaries from the very first ball, he offered.

But polishing the skills against your own teammates or local trundlers at nets is quite different from what a batter gets in a real match situation.

Mahipal Lomror, though, aced the test against proven performers like Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran at a stadium with an unusually gripping pitch that made shot-making a tricky proposition.

He, however, reduced the equation to 43 off 21 balls and thereby the pressure on Karthik too with a first-ball boundary off left-arm pacer Curran.

But Lomror soon bettered that effort against Arshdeep. On the third ball of the 18th over, he smoked the left-arm quick over the cow-corner for a six and in the next ball pulled him for a four through backward square leg.

That over had started with RCB needing 36 runs from 18 balls and three balls later it became a more comfortable 24 runs from 14 balls. Lomror was not hesitant to give a slice of credit to his senior partner Karthik for keeping his pulse racing.

"I think batting with him makes things really easy. He has some 15-17 years of experience in IPL. He was telling me to stay calm and focus on the next ball, not to get overexcited or not to get too aggressive," he said. The apprentice has certainly left the master a beaming man.

(With PTI Inputs)