Ahead of MI's clash with SRH, pacer Ashwani Kumar stated he is ready for new ball duties if given the chance. He also highlighted his work with coach Lasith Malinga on mental strength, yorkers, and slower deliveries for the struggling franchise.
Ahead of his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Mumbai Indians pacer Ashwani Kumar spoke on being ready if given a chance to bowl with the new ball and working with pace bowling coach Lasith Malinga.
MI, which are currently at the bottom half of the table at ninth spot with just two wins in seven games, will be looking to get their third win of the season against an upbeat SRH, who have established themselves as genuine title contenders, especially with the skipper Pat Cummins returning in the previous game against Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Ashwani Kumar on his preparations
Speaking during the presser, Ashwani, who has mostly bowled in the middle overs and death overs this season, said on bowling with the new ball, "Bowlers are working on bowling with the new ball (such as Bumrah, Boult etc). I am also working with them. If I get a chance, I will do it (bowl with the new ball).
Working with Lasith Malinga
On working with Malinga, he said that the work is mostly on mental side of things and developing his yorker and slower deliveries. "He (Malinga) also talks to me mentally about how to handle the pressure. We are also working on the skills. I am also working on the yorkers and slowers," he added.
In nine matches for MI since his debut last year, Ashwani has taken 17 wickets at an average of 17.24, with two four-fers to his name.
Squads
Mumbai Indians Squad: Quinton de Kock(w), Danish Malewar, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutherford, Shardul Thakur, Krish Bhagat, Ashwani Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar, Raj Bawa, Will Jacks, Mayank Rawat, Rohit Sharma, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Ryan Rickelton, Raghu Sharma, Keshav Maharaj, Mayank Markande, Robin Minz, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar
Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga, Smaran Ravichandran, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Kamindu Mendis, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Shivam Mavi, Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka, Krains Fuletra, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar.
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