Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma, in a pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday, said that the new batsman facing the delivery after the previous one was caught out is a ‘good rule’. He and the team’s head coach Mahela Jayawardene further spoke about the five-time IPL champions’ strategy going into the 2022 season. 

Mumbai Indians will kick off their IPL 2022 campaign against the Delhi Capitals on March 27. 

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Mankading will be a legal mode of dismissal in the tournament and the teams will get two DRS referrals instead of one.

Sharma praised the MCC rule changes but warned that batsmen will need to pay more attention ‘when to come out of the crease and when not’. 

“I think it is a good rule, the new batsman should face (the ball) if the batsman gets out, it is important that a bowler is bowling in good rhythm and he gets a wicket, a new batter faces him, especially when he catches out,” the Mumbai captain said in a virtual press conference. 

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“It is a good opportunity for the opposition to keep up the pressure,” he said, referring to the additional DRS referral. 

“And having two DRS is also a good rule, because fewer mistakes in the game, the better it is. In international cricket we play with two DRS, so it should be there in the IPL, so I think it is a good move to bring two DRS by the IPL,” Sharma said.

The 34-year-old further confirmed that he will open for the team. 

“I will open the batting. (I have) been doing that in the past, so I am looking forward to open (the batting) with Ishan (Kishan),” he said.

IPL matches this season will take place in four stdiums, three of which are situated in Mumbai. Rohit Sharma said that his side will  have no “added advantage” as many in the “relatively new team” have not played a single game here in last two years.

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“I hope you saw the auction, relatively new team, lot of new guys have come into the team, so I don’t believe in added advantage because these guys, like lot of the guys 70 (or) 80 percent of the squad has not played in Bombay before,” the captain said. 

“So there is no such thing as added advantage,” he added. 

With the IPL being a 10-team affair this time, the franchises will be playing a different format, but Rohit maintained that nothing changes for the team in terms of planning.

“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’s 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,” he signed off.