Saba Karim, former Indian cricketer, has shared his views on the upcoming IPL Qualifier 2 match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). He believes MI has the advantage based on their current form. Karim also discussed Virat Kohli’s performance and the possibility of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) winning the IPL.
Karim made these comments at the Fit India ‘Sundays on Cycle’ initiative in Delhi.
“With the momentum that Mumbai Indians have, I think it will be favourable for their victory. It is a good team, they have a strong bowling. They look more dominant the way they are playing,” Karim said about the MI-PBKS qualifier.
PBKS, despite a strong performance in the league stage, suffered a significant defeat against RCB. MI, on the other hand, performed well in the eliminator against Gujarat Titans (GT).
Regarding RCB potentially winning the IPL, Karim added, “Hope so, his performance has been so good. He has been working so hard, and it would be good for RCB fans if they win the IPL this time around.”
Virat Kohli has been in exceptional form, scoring 614 runs in 14 matches with a high average and strike rate.
Additionally, Karim spoke about India’s upcoming tour of England, where a young team, under the leadership of Shubman Gill, will have a chance to showcase their talent.
“We have a fine bench strength. Youngsters are getting a chance, what is better than that? There is a young captain. It is a good chance for these youngsters to perform well,” he stated.
The tour begins in June, coinciding with the new ICC World Test Championship cycle. A young Indian team faces a challenging test in England.
Saba also commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interaction with Vaibhav Suryavanshi, a 14-year-old batter who had a successful IPL season.
Suryavanshi had an impactful IPL season, including a record-breaking century.
India squad for England tour: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav