IPL 2022: Rohit Sharma reveals Mumbai Indians' opening pair, breaks silence on Suryakumar Yadav's availability

Captain of the Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma has in the past sacrificed his fancied opener's slot to offer more balance to the team. For years, Rohit has repeatedly shuffled himself in MI's top order until IPL 2019 arrived. In a World Cup year, Rohit opened the innings for MI throughout the season and the result was an emphatic 405 runs with two half-centuries. He stuck to the formula the year later in 2020 and scored 332 runs as both seasons, MI went on to lift the trophy. (Also Read: 'Rohit is around… but after that' - Ravi Shastri advocates IPL as solution to single out India's next white-ball captain)

Rohit bettered his overall tally in IPL 2021 scoring 381 runs even though MI failed to reach the Playoffs. Ahead of the season, Rohit had hinted that he would once again like to open the innings but pointed out he was ready to bat anywhere based on the demands of the team. This time around though, with no Quinton de Kock to fall back on, the best and most reliable opening pair for the five-time champions is Rohit and Ishan Kishan. And ahead of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League which begins on Saturday, the MI skipper confirmed that he will indeed get the innings underway for his team with the franchise's ₹15.25 crore buy, Ishan.

"I will open the batting. I've been doing that in the past so I'm looking forward to open with Ishan," Rohit responded to a query from Hindustan Times. Head coach Mahela Jayawardena weighed in on the same by saying: "I think Rohit and Ishan is a good combination up top and Ishan is also a wicketkeeper, and there are very few who can bat in the top-three."

Rohit opening the batting will leave MI with Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard as the only two players in the middle-order from previous editions. With no Pandya brothers, the likes of N Tilak Verma and Sanjay Yadav could be given the responsibility in due time. However, MI's biggest headache at this point is the uncertainty surrounding Suryakumar's injury and his impending availability for their season opener against Delhi Capitals on Sunday.

Suryakumar picked up hairline fracture on his thumb during the third T20I against West Indies on February 22. The 31-year-old batter has since been in rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru, but there has been no intimation about him, leading to reports that Suryakumar is most likely to miss MI's first match of the season. Rohit broke his silence over the availability of the batter, providing a huge update on where his fitness stands.

"Surya is at the NCA at the moment. He is recovering well. He will be here soon and yeah, I can't give you his availability right now... whether he will be there to play the first game or not, but yeah, we are trying to get him here as soon as possible once we have the clearance from NCA," Rohit pointed out.

For Rohit, in many ways, this is a team he has to build from scratch. MI’s pace-bowling line-up, upon a cursory glance, could be a cause of concern. Before the auction, MI retained only one bowler in Jasprit Bumrah, and with the likes of Trent Boult and Adam Milne gone, the India pacer could be partnering Jaydev Unadkat and Tymal Mills with the new ball. Rohit stressed on the need to identify what each player brings to the table and allotting them new roles in a revamped set-up.

"Mills, Unadkat are new to the franchise, but they are not new to the game. They have played the game for a number of years now and they know what needs to be done. It's just that our role will be critical as to how we give them the understanding of what they need to do for us as a team," Rohit said.

"They have played for different franchises and countries, where they had different roles. For us, that will be a challenge and we are working with these guys. We are trying to give them a role clarity as to what we are expecting from them and what sort of role they need to play here."

This time around, with the entire season being played across four venues in Maharashtra – MI are scheduled to play five matches at the Wankhede Stadium, but Rohit doesn't see it giving MI any kind of edge over other teams. Besides, with the return of the group format, the first time in 11 years, Rohit feels proper planning would be the key moving forward for the five-time champions.

"It's a relatively new team. I don't believe in added advantage because 70-80 per cent of the guys haven't played in Mumbai before, so there's no such thing as added advantage. Only myself, Surya, Pollard, Ishan and Bumrah have played in Mumbai a lot, others have not. We are playing here after two years. We have not played a single game in Mumbai. In fact, other franchises have played in Mumbai last year, we didn't. So, no advantage…" Rohit said.

"It's a format that we played in 2011. To be honest, nothing really changes in terms of planning. You have to play the opposition - some you will play only once or some twice. There are not too many changes that we need to make, it's just that you will be playing certain teams only once, so you need to be prepared because there is no coming back. You need to plan well against those guys, ensure that your bases are covered."