IPL 2021: "These people speak and don’t understand what persons go through as cricketers"

Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder Kieron Pollard has shed light on how cricket experts passing judgements on out-of-form players further dampens their spirits. Pollard added that the thinktank always tries to inject confidence into them regardless of the ‘white noise’.

Following three successive losses, MI are back on winning track after getting past the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six wickets in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. But their middle-order woes, which have plagued them in the UAE leg, didn’t quite recede. Pollard reiterated that form is permanent, while slamming the analysis and conclusions that fans consume.

“It’s just a matter of trying to give those guys the confidence to show that they have done it before and they can do it again, or finding the problems of what is actually happening and try to find the best solution. So that’s all it could be...These are guys who have done it for us time and time again. It’s difficult when you have a lot of other people on the outside as well speaking about it," Pollard said in response to Sportskeeda’s question at the post-match press conference.

“At the end of the day, these people speak and they don’t understand what persons go through as cricketers. So for us, it’s backing about backing individuals and trying to give them the confidence to do well because they are young, talent individuals,” the MI stalwart added.

The lean patches of batters Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, as well as all-rounder Hardik Pandya, became a cause of concern for both MI and for the Indian team, with the T20 World Cup slated to begin next month. While Kishan was benched for the Punjab clash, SKY was castled for a golden duck.

Hardik, though, got back among runs and finished with an unbeaten 40 off 30 balls to help MI over the line with an over remaining.

“Saurabh Tiwary was the backbone for MI today” - Pollard

Saurabh Tiwary (R) and Quinton de Kock (L) resurrected MI's chase with a 45-run third-wicket stand [Credits: MI]

In the star-studded MI middle order, the unsung hero on the slow UAE pitches has been Saurabh Tiwary. The 31-year-old has featured in three of MI’s four games after resumption, and he has amassed 100 runs at a strike rate of 126.58.

While his unbeaten 50 off 40 balls against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) went in vain, the Jharkhand lad top-scored with a 37-ball 45 tonight to keep MI in the chase. Kieron Pollard pointed out that Tiwary has always risen to the occasion when called upon, labelling him as the “backbone” of tonight’s win.

“Every time he’s gotten an opportunity for us, more often than not, coming out and churning out numbers of batting in those crunch situations. And that is a sign of a guy who’s focused on what he needs to do, sometimes he misses out for invariable reasons, but that’s the nature of team sports," Pollard said.

“But he came tonight in a pressure situation, losing two wickets in two balls, and he batted well for us in the middle. So congratulations to him and he was the backbone for us today, stretching the game and having the opportunity to try to win it at the back end,” Pollard, who was adjudged the Man of the Match for taking two wickets and firing an unbeaten 15 off 7 balls, added.

With five wins from 11 games, MI have now climbed two places to fifth. Rohit Sharma’s boys are next scheduled to clash with the Delhi Capitals (DC) in Sharjah on Saturday.