Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mark Boucher confirmed that skipper Rohit Sharma and English paceman Jofra Archer are fit of their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on April 2.
Doubts over Rohit's fitness were raised when he did not turn up for the captains' photo shoot in Ahmedabad. Boucher put an end to all speculations as he said in the pre-match press conference, "Yes, Rohit is fit. He has trained the last two days and is 100 per cent ready to go. I think he didn't feel particularly well that morning and just as a precaution, we told him to stay at home."
"There are a lot of photo shoots the boys have had to do. He's not had a lot of time to himself so we thought it was better," he added.
Archer will lead the MI pace attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. While Boucher said that Archer did not train on the eve of MI's first game, he is ready to go against Faf du Plessis-led RCB at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
“Jofra is good, he is 100 per cent ready for tomorrow. He didn't train today, it was an optional training session. He felt that he was ready to put the spikes on tomorrow. We are very happy with his progression since he has been with us. He'll be playing tomorrow," the 46-year-old clarified.
Boucher is hopeful of five-time IPL champions of making a strong comeback after finishing 10th on the points table.
"I can't comment too much about last year I wasn't there. But we have spoken about it, some new talents in the team, new energy, some guys who have done really well in the previous IPLs.
"They understand that last year we didn't have a good season but things can change very quickly, energies have been good, we are in a good space.
“If we get off to good start great, if we don't we'll definitely not panic. The IPL is not won in April or March, it's won in May. Hopefully, we can get a good start and get some momentum.”
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