Abu Dhabi: Defending Indian Premier League champions Mumbai Indians coach John Wright is confident that his side can retain their title with the strong resources he has at his disposal.
“Every time we play in this event, we can put out a very strong team,” said the former New Zealand captain and India coach, as his side played a warm-up match among themselves at the Shaikh Zayed Cricket Stadium on Friday.
“The boys are very excited to be playing in the UAE. We will be happy with any team we put on the park and we will always be going out to win.”
Wright added that he was delighted with the conditions in the Emirates. He said: “This evening is beautiful and lovely conditions to be playing cricket in. One of the boys out there was saying how pleasant the temperature was. It’s a used wicket and possibly the wicket where they are batting at the moment is worn out, but they are striking the ball well and it looks like it is going to be a good wicket for T20 cricket and a beautiful stadium.”
With quality spinners such as Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha in the side, Wright was confident that his side can exploit the conditions. “There are some good spinners [here] and we are pleased about it. They did brilliantly last time round and I know they are keen to have another crack at the IPL. Harbhajan, Ojha and couple of youngsters will be fighting for positions as well. We will never mind a wicket that turns.”
Wright was also all praise for skipper Rohit Sharma, who led the side brilliantly last season. “Rohit led the side marvellously. He led us well with the bat and was tactically very aware. You can say it was very smart captaincy. He also had a great season with India. I’m pleased to see him lead the team again.”
Despite retiring last year, former Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar will be part of the Mumbai team as an icon, and Wright felt this will be a huge boost to his players. “Sachin is a big part of our franchise and should be here. It will be great to see him again and it will be great to have him around.”
Wright was also thrilled to have Sri Lanka’s World T20-winning captain Lasith Malinga in his side. “Lasith will be here fresh from his success as captain, so it will be a huge plus and we are all very pleased for him. He is having a bit of a break and he will be here soon, and the good thing is he has been bowling wonderfully.”
Wright and his charges’ visit to Abu Dhabi came after they trained at the International Cricket Academy on Thursday night without Malinga, who lifted the Twenty20 World Cup for Sri Lanka in Bangladesh last Sunday.
As soon as the players came out of the luxury coach, they did a few stretching exercises and then used baseball gloves for catching practice.
The two star attractions of the evening were India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and pace bowler Zaheer Khan.
Former Australia batsman Michael Hussey was among the first to pad up and bat at the ICC Academy nets.
The ICC Academy authorities have opened up all the pitches, including the Australian, English and subcontinental wickets for the team.
Zaheer Khan, after experiencing the facilities at the ICC Academy, said: “These are excellent facilities for cricket and it will be really good to train here.”
He was eager to see the Dubai cricket stadium, where he is yet to play a match.
Maqbul Dudhia, the General Manager Sports Business of the Dubai Sports City, had an informal chat with Khan as well as with Harbhajan Singh. In fact, both of them even posed for photos with a few fans who had come to see the team training.
India’s former captain and legendary spinner Anil Kumble, who is the chief mentor of the team, along with the Master Blaster and team icon, Sachin Tendulkar, will be arriving soon.
Harbhajan Singh was seen bowling for a long time along with Khan.
With right handed Malinga and left-handed Khan, Mumbai Indians have arguably the most dangerous bowling combination among the IPL teams.
Incidentally, Malinga said after winning the World Twenty20 Cup that he could restrict the Indian batsmen in the final due to his experience of playing in the IPL.
Mumbai Indians have retained five players from last season: Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu, who played a key role in their double triumph in IPL as well as Champions League last year.
The happiest news from the camp was of their star all-rounder Kieron Pollard’s return to form after being sidelined for six months by a knee injury. Pollard hit a match-winning century for Trinidad & Tobago in the Caribbean first-class competition.
It was also revealed on Thursday that the logo of Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, will now be prominently displayed on the Mumbai Indians’ team shirts and merchandise.
Etihad Airways and equity partner Jet Airways have signed a sponsorship deal with the team.
Furthermore, BlackBerry Limited, a world leader in mobile communications, has announced an exclusive partnership with Mumbai Indians. As a part of the association, an exclusive BBM Channel called ‘Mumbai Indians’ will help engage and connect with their millions fans and followers across the globe. The team left for Abu Dhabi on Friday to continue their training before the first match of the tournaments against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium on April 16.