IPL 2023: Local boy and MI pacer Ramandeep excited to play in Mohali against Punjab Kings

Mumbai Indians pacer Ramandeep Singh, who plays for Punjab on the domestic circuit, is excited to play at his home ground against Punjab Kings in an IPL 2023 match, here on Wednesday evening.

Fresh off a thrilling win at home in the last match, Mumbai Indians are in a very happy space, especially after making the 1000th IPL match an unforgettable affair.

"The team atmosphere is very good. Everybody is very happy. The last match was a very special one and we won, so I am feeling really good about it," Ramandeep said ahead of the game.

The last match saw Mumbai Indians chase a 200+ total successfully for the first time in history at the Wankhede Stadium. Ramandeep said that more and more 200+ scores this season were a result of better batting depth in most sides.

"Because of the impact player rule, 200 has now become very common as every team has an extra batter and batting depth. It is not necessarily that the bowlers are bowling badly. We chased 200+ in the last match against RR, who have one of the best bowling line ups. So, it is not right to judge bowling line ups," the pacer said.

The 26-year old Singh has been a valued source of advice for the team ahead of their away match against the Kings. He had also been at the receiving end of some friendly banter.

"There is a lot of excitement. I started my cricket from here in the Under 14s. Everybody in the team knows that this is my home ground, so they've been poking me about it. But I'm very excited and looking forward to the match," he said.

Ramandeep has enjoyed the experience of working with various legends in the Mumbai Indians set up.

"As a cricketer you have to improve yourself, no matter what. I'm trying to improve and working on that. Considering the number of legends in our team, even if I learn one thing from each of them, I can go a long way," he said.

The pacer also spoke about his special rapport with batting coach Kieron Pollard and the advice he has received from Sachin Tendulkar during the team's practice sessions.

"Polly is my go to guy whenever I'm in trouble or whenever I'm trying something out in my batting. I try talking to him. He's such a confident person. He tells me to back myself and be in a confident space. Sachin sir also tells me that I shouldn't worry about playing or not playing but just be in a good zone so that I'm ready whenever the opportunity arises," he said.

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Ramandeep also said that MI's focus as a team has never been on individual milestones and every player is always asked to put the team first, with captain Rohit Sharma leading the way.