'We have no concerns about him' - Batting coach Kieron Pollard backs MI star batter ahead of high-voltage clash against CSK

Keiron Pollard (Image credit: Twitter)

Mumbai Indians started their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 campaign with an embarrassing defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 2. RCB's dominant performance resulted in the five-time champions losing by eight wickets. However, MI will look to bounce back in their second match of the season when they take on arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings in the IPL El Clasico on Saturday at their fortress Wankhede Stadium.

After two consecutive poor seasons, everyone expected Mumbai to put on a solid performance in their first match. Despite having a strong batting lineup, none of the batters, except Tilak Varma, were able to play responsibly at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. MI were 48/4 at one stage, and Varma scored an unbeaten 84 to give his team a reasonable total to fight for. However, MI's average bowling unit was unable to defend the target, as RCB batters easily overcame it with nearly four overs to spare.

Speaking after their humiliating defeat, MI batting coach Kieron Pollard said: “I believe all batters have to fire. I do not think we should not single out any individual. Cricket is played with eleven players. Yes we did not get off to a great start as a batting unit, but in the end, we managed a decent total in Bangalore. Let us see what happens since we are back at Wankhede."

MI not worried about Surya's form

Suryakumar Yadav, the world's No. 1 T20I batter, continued his poor form from the ODI series against Australia and were not able to put up a decent performance in their first match. Mumbai still has high hopes for SKY, who is capable of smashing bowlers all over the park.

“We have no concerns about Surya’s form, again. I believe you guys make more of it than we do sometimes within the team setup," Pollard said.

"People have bad days and that is unfortunate as cricketers our bad days are highlighted and we keep speaking on and on about it rather than trying to look at the positive or what he has done over the past 18 months or so in cricket as an individual.

“We do it on a day-by-day basis and the way he is striking the ball, the way he is training we have got confidence that he will do justice to his talent and we will continue to back him," the former West Indies captain added.