Mumbai Indians will have a thin balancing act to do for the rest of their Indian Premier League games leading up to the semi-finals as the country versus club debate rages again.
Mumbai Indians will have a thin balancing act to do for the rest of their Indian Premier League games leading up to the semi-finals as the country versus club debate rages again.
MI have all but sealed their semi-final spot with 14 points from eight games, rendering the rest of the league games inconsequential for the Mukesh Ambani-owned team. Hence, some experts feel it will only be right if MI rests their India players who will be participating in the World Twenty20 Cup.
In a recent column, a leading current India player had written that once the IPL teams are assured of the semi-final spot they should rest their West Indies-bound players.
There is a question mark whether after a grueling six-week event the players will be fresh enough for the prestigious World Twenty20 Cup which starts within a week of the IPL final.
MI have Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh in the Indian team and both are valuable cogs in M S Dhoni's bowling attack. The two most experienced campaigners spearhead India's pace and spin bowling departments respectively.
In fact, Zaheer had missed the last World T20 owing to injury suffered during the IPL which was held days before the prestigious ICC event.
MI coach Robin Singh said they would play at full strength against Chennai Super Kings.
"We will field the best team. We do not want to lose the momentum since we have not still qualified for the semi-final. We will take this match with all seriousness. May be after we are assured of a semi-final slot, we might rest a few players," MI coach Robin Singh, who was India's fielding coach till recently, said yesterday.
