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“He is pretty young. 19-20 years old and the talent that he has is enormous. That’s the reason Mumbai Indians have backed him as the first choice,” said the Mumbai Ranji Trophy-winning captain ahead of MI’s penultimate round robin game tomorrow against Kings XI Punjab at the Wankhede Stadium here.
“It is the start in his career, so it is a great opportunity for him playing for MI. A couple of games back he won a game for us, so it shows the amount of ability he has with the bat. This experience of playing all the games for a franchise like MI is going to help him going forward in his career,” Tare told reporters.
He also said that MI would be playing fearless cricket and the team knows that if they win their two games, they can still make it to the play-offs, although they have gathered only 10 points from as many games.
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We have been in this situation before (in 2014). We are just positive and we want to be fearless, that’s what the thinking is,” he said.
Tare conceded that MI’s performance in their home venue, previously known as a fortress, has been below par this season, which is a worrisome point.
“The major thing is that we haven’t been up to the mark at the Wankhede. This franchise has always been very tough (to beat) at the Wankhede, but unfortunately we haven’t been as strong at home this year, that’s the only worry for me as far as the team is concerned.
“From the team’s point of view, it is quite clear, we win two and you are there, anything can happen,” said Tare, who is yet to get a game this season.
Tare conceded that MI has played an important role in his career but said that now he knows how to deal with sitting out of the playing eleven.
“It is not a great thing sitting out on the bench.
This is my ninth season in the IPL and I have sat a lot of games on the bench, so by now I know how to deal with it.
Sometimes you just cannot control and have to hope for the best going forward.
“IPL is not the end of everything. I am still a first class captain and have got lot of positive things to look forward to. Even if I am sitting out now, you never know how things can change and next season I will be a very important player, so that is the thinking I have. It’s not the end of my career (or) end of life if I am sitting out for the entire season.
“I feel fortunate that I am back with MI, a franchise which has helped me in my career. I have spent six seasons growing up and the way (my) career got groomed, MI (has) played a massive role in it,” he added.