Mumbai, Mar 29 (IANS): Five-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians, the most successful franchise in the tournament's history, started their campaign in the 15th edition of the T20 league on a disappointing note, losing to Delhi Capitals in their opening match at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
With their next match scheduled for Saturday (April 2) against Rajasthan Royals at the Brabourne Stadium, the Mumbai Indians utilised the free time to build up the strength of some of the young players in their ranks. With young players like Ayush Badoni making their mark early in the IPL 2022, Mumbai Indians will also be hoping to see some of the unheralded players in their squad to produce some impactful performances.
To help the young players build up their strength, the Mumbai Indians' strength and conditioning coaches staff scheduled a gym session for the players.
"While players like Aryan Juyal, Ramandeep Singh, Mayank Markande, Hrithik Shokeen, Fabian Allen and Riley Meredith were put through their cycles, Head Coach Mahela Jayawardene also joined them as part of the session," the franchise informed on Tuesday. The franchise captured a video of the players engaged in strength and conditioning exercises at their hotel and released it on its official website.
In their opening match on March 27, Mumbai Indians suffered a four-wicket defeat to Delhi Capitals. Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav claimed 3/18 to restrict Mumbai to 177/5 in 20 overs and Delhi Capitals chased it down easily, reaching 179/6 in 18.2 overs.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians on Tuesday unveiled their campaign film for IPL 2022 which "captures the aspirations and hopes of cricketing talent across the country". Named One Dream -- the film depicts the desire and dream of every young kid playing gully cricket to play for the nation, the franchise said in a release on Tuesday.
The film is a part of the Mumbai Indians' campaign 'Khelenge Dil Kholke', which the franchise claims, brings to the fore, the aspect of identifying and backing young talent, which is one of Mumbai Indians' core strengths.