Rohit Sharma Nears Return, Jayawardene Hopes for MI Playoff Push

Rohit, who has featured in only four matches this season, batted at the nets in Chennai on Friday after missing the last four games due to a hamstring injury. "It's progressed well. He's working really hard to get back at it. For us, with the medical team, it's on a daily basis.

"We see how he feels, how he pulls up the next day. So we'll make a decision. We'll see him practising today as well. So let's see how he feels tomorrow and what the medical team will tell us," Jayawardene said in the pre-match press conference.

Mumbai Indians' campaign hasn't been a rip-roaring one, with just two wins from eight matches, leaving the five-time champions ninth on the points table. Every game from here is effectively a must-win for MI to stay in contention for the playoffs.

"It's not the time for us to experiment. We've had issues with our injuries, and the availability of players and all that. We've already played, I think, 20 players in the season. So we've not done that for many years.

"Our maximum has been 16, even with the impact, where we've had 16 or 17 was our maximum. So due to those circumstances, we've gone deeper into the bench.

"These are quality players as well, especially our foreigners, who have been good quality options. So we kept on changing combinations to suit that as well. But for us, it's about trusting that process of correcting and playing good cricket," elaborated Jayawardene.

Despite posting big totals, MI have failed to close out games with the ball, with Jayawardene pointing out that inconsistency has been their biggest issue. "I think it's just that we haven't been consistent enough in phases where we must be competitive in those phases, and we've lost our way.

"So that's something that we keep saying, 'let's get this done.'. Sometimes you get that done, and then there's some other phase that fails us. So it's a catch-22 for everyone, and you just keep fighting and trusting the processes, skill, and players who've given us success, and then keep fighting. I mean, that's what we need to do, and that's what we will do," he said.

On Suryakumar Yadav's poor form, who has amassed 162 runs in eight matches, Jayawardene said the right-hander is doing everything he can to rediscover his scoring ways. "We've had this conversation. Like, if you look at him batting in the middle, there are two things. Practice, he's batting as well as anybody. I'm sure he was like that.

"Even when you go into the matches as well, he's hitting the ball well. But the way he's gotten off a few times, it's unfortunate. Like, he hits a shot, gets caught in the boundary line. A couple of times, okay, he had some good balls that came his way, got out.

"So, being a batsman as well, I've gone through those kinds of situations. Like, why is it happening to me? But it does happen. So, the conversations are like keep trusting your thought process, ability, and back yourself in that situation because he's that sort of player - very unorthodox.

"How he sees, how he plays, we keep encouraging him. Sometimes, I mean, if you look at Surya for us, he had three to four brilliant years, and not just last year. So, sometimes people are human. They will have a little run that doesn't go his way. But he knows that, and he'll come up with a smile and play the same way he knows how to play," he concluded.

- IANS