'Youngsters are nucleus of the future'

Mumbai: Mumbai Indians’ Team Director TA Sekar is a happy man after his boys defeated the visiting Chennai Super Kings at Brabourne on Thursday. Talking to the media after the match, Sekar spoke about being on top of the points table and the success of the domestic players in the team.

Excerpts:

On being on top of the points table

Yeah, now we are at the [top of the table]. I am not worried about being at the top of the table but winning [against] Chennai was a big thing, they are a very good side. In the first year they came to the finals, in the second year they lost in the semi-finals. Mumbai is playing as a team and a very good unit. I think there is a very healthy competition going on in the team and our batting is really clicking and Sachin Tendulkar is on a roll. I think he is playing at his best. So things are working out really well for us.

On Sachin Tendulkar’s form

I think he is growing like [aged] wine. He is reinventing himself and the last six months I think he is batting at his best. I could see Sachin Tendulkar of 1997-1998 when he was playing like this. I think it is going to be very difficult for the bowlers to bowl to him. He doesn’t play big shots but suddenly you see he is on 40 50 and takes the game away from the opponents.

On the upcoming and promising players

One of the best things to happen to the Mumbai Indian team is [the introduction of a] lot of youngsters … like R Sathish, Ambati Raydu, Aditya Tare, Shikhar Dhawan. So they are the backbone, the nucleus of the future for us. I think we have put in a lot of hard work and they have also worked very hard. Playing along with Sachin is a very good education for these guys and they should pick up not only his batting prowess but also how he conducts himself - that is very, very important. I think playing with Sachin is a great thing for all these youngsters that none of the other teams have got.

On Sanath Jayasuriya not being in the Playing XI

We take it one match at a time and play our best eleven. It is not that Sanath [Jayasuriya] or [JP] Duminy or whoever else [are singled out]. We try to get our best combination because in T20, the combination makes a big difference. If we have a good combination then we can definitely post wins. We are not going by names, we are going by who will fit into our eleven. The best combination is picked by our selection committee.

On the role of Jonty Rhodes

I think Jonty has worked a lot on these boys. He came when we started the camp, around the 22nd [of February] and he has worked on the players of the team. I think the fielding level has really gone up, [the boys] have really worked hard. Jonty’s contribution is definitely notable. He is a thorough professional and the boys are really enjoying working with him.