Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The biggest talking point ahead of Mumbai Indians’ high-stakes clash against Chennai Super Kings is the fitness of Rohit Sharma, and head coach Mahela Jayawardene has provided a cautious yet intriguing update.Rohit, who has missed the last four matches due to a hamstring injury, was seen batting in the nets in Chennai on Friday, raising hopes of a possible return. However, Jayawardene stopped short of confirming his inclusion, stressing that the decision remains in the hands of the medical team.“It’s progressed well. He’s working really hard to get back at it. For us, with the medical team, it’s on a daily basis,” Jayawardene said ahead of the crucial encounter at Chepauk.“We see how he feels, how he pulls up the next day. So we’ll make a decision. We’ll see him practising today as well. So let’s see how he feels tomorrow and what the medical team will tell us,” he added, keeping fans guessing about Rohit’s availability.MI search for consistency amid strugglesMumbai Indians’ campaign has been far from ideal, with just two wins in eight matches leaving them languishing near the bottom of the table. With the playoff race heating up, every game has become a must-win.“It’s not the time for us to experiment. We’ve had issues with our injuries, and the availability of players and all that. We’ve already played, I think, 20 players in the season. So we’ve not done that for many years,” Jayawardene admitted.“Our maximum has been 16… but due to those circumstances, we’ve gone deeper into the bench. These are quality players as well… but for us, it’s about trusting that process of correcting and playing good cricket.”‘Catch-22’ phases hurting MIDespite putting up competitive totals, MI have struggled to close out games, particularly with the ball.“I think it’s just that we haven’t been consistent enough in phases where we must be competitive… and we’ve lost our way,” Jayawardene explained.“So that’s something that we keep saying, ‘let’s get this done.’ Sometimes you get that done, and then there’s some other phase that fails us. So it’s a catch-22… and you just keep fighting and trusting the processes.”
