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Home News Why fix something that ain't broken - Mahela Jayawardene on MI's opening...

Why fix something that ain’t broken – Mahela Jayawardene on MI’s opening combination for IPL 2020

Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed in a virtual conference held on Thursday that he will be opening the innings for the four-time IPL champions. The 33-year-old clearly stated that unless the team has any other role defined for him there isn’t any reason to change his batting order. 

Even Mumbai Indians’ head coach, Mahela Jayawardene, has backed Rohit’s decision to open for the defending champions, and cleared the air that was surrounding the opening slot following Australian cricketer Chris Lynn’s arrival into the unit.  

The inclusion of Chris Lynn does add considerable strength to their top-order and moreover, it gives the Mumbai franchise plenty of options to pick from. However, Jayawardene straightaway mentioned that they will be backing the duo of Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock owing to their last season’s performance. 

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“Having options is always great. Chris Lynn is a great addition to the squad but the combination of Rohit and Quinton has been there for us, last season they complemented each other well. It has been very consistent and both are well-experienced cricketers.

“I always feel why fix something that ain’t broken. So we will continue to go with that but having Lynn as an option gives us flexibility in the squad” said Jayawardene in the virtual press conference.

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Chris Lynn’s form a concern

Lynn, who is among the most destructive batsmen in T20 cricket and a gun player in Australia’s T20 Tournament – Big Bash League (BBL), had a forgettable run with the bat in the concluded edition of the Caribbean Premier League wherein he played for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. 

Averaging a mere 17.25 in 9 T20s, Lynn acquired only 138 runs in 9 T20s at a strike rate of 107.81. 

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His weakness to play spin, plus, the slow and turning tracks in West Indies were exploited in CPL 2020. Having said that, the 30-year-old is one of the best in the business in big-hitting in the T20 format. 

In 186 innings, Lynn has struck 34 fifties and two hundred. He has aggregated 5234 runs at an average and strike rate of 31.91 and 142.88.  In IPL, he last played with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and amassed 1274 runs, averaging 34.40, and striking at 140-plus.

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V Shashankhttps://www.mpl.live/
A cricket aficionado who has been following the game since the historic Ashes 2013-14. "People throw stones at you, you turn them into milestones." - Sachin Tendulkar

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