'I have got enough experience of sitting on the bench and I know how to deal with it,' says Tare, the Mumbai Ranji Trophy captain.
Mumbai Indians (MI) are proud of their record at their fortress they call the Wankhede. Out of the 59 matches they have played at this hallowed turf since the Indian Premier League (IPL) began 10 years ago, MI have won 36 and lost 23, giving them a success percentage of 61.
But, their 2018 record in Mumbai is not something they will be proud of, and their dismal home record have put them in a precarious position where they need to win their last two matches – at the Wankhede on Wednesday against KXIP and in Delhi against DD on May 20 – and hope for other results going their way while also maintaining a healthy net run rate that is a healthy +0.405 to have hopes of making the play-offs. With 10 points from 12 matches, they are sixth on the table below KXIP.
Mumbai Indians’ reserve wicket-keeper and Mumbai Ranji Trophy captain Aditya Tare, who is yet to make an appearance on the field this season, was hopeful of MI making the play-offs.
Tare said in Mumbai on Tuesday: “It is an important stage for us. We know that if we win two games, we will make it (to the play-offs). We have been in this situation before. We are just positive and we want to be fearless, that’s what the thinking is.”
Tare, who has played in 35 IPL matches since his debut in 2010 (29 for MI, 3 for DD and 3 for SRH), admitted that MI have not been good at their own backyard. “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. From the team's point of view, it is quite clear – we win two and you are there (in play-offs). Anything can happen,” said the 30-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman.
Reflecting on the 12 matches so far, Tare said: “Results haven’t gone our way. We just can’t blame the batters. It has been a tournament where he haven’t sorted of clicked together as a team and when we have (clicked), we have won games. The games we have lost, sometimes we could have defended totals. When you lose, it’s important that you share that responsibility of the loss equally as you share the responsibility of a win.”
Tare is hopeful of getting a game this IPL after warming the bench, what with the team management backing Jharkhand’s Ishan Kishan to do the job behind the stumps. “He (Kishan) is pretty young, only 19 years. The talent he has is enormous and that’s the reason why Mumbai Indians have backed him as the first choice. This 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,” said Tare.
Tare, who made his IPL debut for MI in 2010, batting at No. 3, the position that Kishan has batted this season, is not new to warming the bench. He was frank when he was asked what motivated him despite not getting game time: “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.
“I have got enough experience of sitting on the bench and I know how to deal with it. IPL is not end of everything. I am still a first-class captain and still have got a 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 may 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 played a massive role in it. Whenever I get opportunity, it will be my time to give back to them.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Aditya Tare")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}