Mumbai: Rohit Sharma knows a thing or two about winning IPL trophies and having been there and done that on five occasions for Mumbai Indians, public expectation is the last thing to make him wary.

The most successful captain in the history of IPL with five championships, Sharma knows that Mumbai Indians as one of the title contenders comes enters any tourney with a baggage of hype and hoopla.

And that’s what a protective skipper wants to shield the youngsters in his side from as one can easily get overawed by the sense of occasion.

“Expectations will always be there whenever we go out to play, not just in the IPL. Having played for so many years it does not bother me and I am not worried about what the people are expecting me to do,” Sharma said at the season opening media conference organised by MI.

“We know that we have to do our best and win the trophy. To keep thinking about it all the time is to put pressure on yourself,” the skipper said.

Dewald Brevis, Tilak Verma will all be playing their second season but for young Cameron Green with a multi-million dollar deal, IPL will be a different beast altogether.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on them (youngsters) right now. Closer to our first game, we will give them that specific roles. Obviously leading up that first game, guys pretty much know what we are expecting from them,” Sharma explained.

“But the last thing I will do is put too much pressure on them, especially the guys who have not played IPL before and there are a few,” the skipper assured to put his protective arm around the junior members of the contingent.

PTI

Press Trust of India