IPL 2022: Rohit Sharma is a world-class player, exciting idea to bat with Kieron Pollard, says Tim David
India Today
Currently trying to pick Kieron Pollard and Rohit Sharma's brains, Mumbai Indians' Rs 8.25 crore big-hitting recruit Tim David says he will be 'willing to take some risks' in the upcoming IPL, as that is his approach.
Mumbai Indians' Rs 8.25 crore big-hitting recruit Tim David is excited to get the opportunity to play alongside India captain Rohit Sharma and West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
David, the power-hitter from Australia, was snapped up by MI after a fierce bidding war in the IPL mega auction recently. A great admirer of Pollard, David has been trying to imitate the power game of the veteran West Indian swashbuckler heading into the 15th edition of the lucrative league and feels the two of them can do a lot together.
''It is an exciting idea to bat with him. Polly is someone I have admired for his power-hitting and have looked at some of his innings to see how I can do that myself. If we could get going in the middle and death overs, we could take a few games away,'' David told mumbaiindians.com.
On skipper Rohit and his approach, David said, ''Rohit Sharma is a world-class player. He just looks so effortless when he bats, it's very admirable. It is a huge bonus to be able to spend time with class players and try to pick their brains a little bit.
''I try to keep it simple. I could come in a lot of different situations but my aim is always to have a positive approach and be willing to take some risks. Sometimes it may not come off but there is no better feeling than hitting one off the middle of the bat and it going for a big six.'' David has experience of playing for various franchises across the world -- Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2021 IPL, Perth Scorchers and Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League, Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League, Southern Brave in The Hundred and Saint Lucia Kings in the Caribbean Premier League.
MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene, who has worked with David in the Hundred, might have had a say in the selection of what he terms a ''hot property'' in the shortest format.
''I think he is a hot property at the moment. In T20 cricket, he is known as a power-hitter. We have always had those options at Mumbai Indians. ''When we plan the auction and when we knew we had funds available after the Jofra Archer bid, we took into account the auction dynamics because a lot of the uncapped players were available and Tim became a great target for us,'' Jayawardene said. The Sri Lankan batting great and former captain added, ''Like we have the Bumrah-Jofra combination to look forward to, we can have the Pollard-Tim David combination at the back-end of the innings.
