IPL 2021: Was a precautionary move to rest Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya against CSK, says Trent Boult

IPL 2021: Mumbai Indians pacer Trent Boult said both Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya are recovering well but he is not sure whether the two star players will be part of the playing XI in their next match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday. IPL 2021: Rohit and Hardik are recovering well, says MI pacer Boult (Courtesy of BCCI)HIGHLIGHTSRohit Sharma was rested for Mumbai Indians match against Chennai Super Kings on SundayA niggle ruled Hardik Pandya out of the big-ticket clash in DubaiBoth Rohit and Hardik are likely to return to the playing XI when MI take on KKR on ThursdayNew Zealand and Mumbai Indians pacer Trent Boult on Wednesday said Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya are recovering well from their niggles and that it was only a precautionary move that they were rested for the Indian Premier League 2021 match against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.

Rohit Sharma, who did not take the field during the 2nd innings of the Oval Test in London earlier this month, did not captain Mumbai Indians as the defending champions resumed their IPL 2021 season. Kieron Pollard stepped in as the stand-in captain but MI lost the big-ticket clash to CSK.MI were struck a double blow as Hardik Pandya, their premier all-rounder, did not take the field against CSK. MI struggled to chase 157, losing the tie by 20 runs.”They are both recovering well, in terms of their selection for the next game, I am not too sure. It was a bit of a precautionary move to rest them,” Trent Boult said on the eve of their next IPL 2021 match against Kolkata Knight Riders, scheduled for Thursday, September 23.Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene said on Sunday that both Rohit and Hardik are likely to play against KKR. Jayawardene said Rohit needed more rest while Hardik had a small niggle and MI did not want to risk playing the all-rounder.”Rohit was batting and doing his running as well but after he came from the UK, we fell that he still needs more rest,” Jayawardene had said.”He should be fine and will be playing the next match. Hardik was training and had a little niggle so again as a precaution we gave him an extra day to see how things are but nothing serious.”Boult plays down MI’s brilliant record vs KKRMeanwhile, Trent Boult played down Mumbai Indians’ positive head-to-head record against Kolkata Knight Riders, saying they are treating every game in the IPL as a big-ticket encounter. In 28 matches between them, KKR have lost 22 while winning only 6 but Eoin Morgan’s men will be high on confidence after having hammered Royal Challengers Bangalore by 9 wickets.”Every game is such a big game, every match is important now. But history is history, it is nice to have good results in our bag against KKR. They are a quality side. We would not take them lightly,” Boult said.Click here for our site’s complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

* This article was originally published here