Jasprit Bumrah

Virat Kohli, meanwhile, heaped praise on RCB legspinner Karn Sharma and tagged his stand with Faf du Plessis "the perfect start"

He got a couple of big wickets and put us on the front foot in the middle phase." He was ready to play, even in the nets here he wasn't getting hit for sixes in the nets easily. "Some of the shots he played, in the first game of the season, he showed a lot of courage. "Me and Faf got off to the perfect start. Later, Kohli said that the "phenomenal win" capped off a near-perfect homecoming for them. "I thought with the new ball it [the pitch] was a bit tricky [to bat on]," Kohli said. Rohit heaped praise on the youngster for "showing courage and being brave" in the middle. We were struggling to play the catch-up game but Tilak was magnificent." "It was a good pitch to bat on. You can try and control the things that are in your control and those that are not in your control, you can't do that. We need to give them the support." Varma added 50 with Wadhera for the fifth wicket before combining with Arshad to add an unbroken 48 in 17 balls, and in the process he stayed unbeaten on 84 off 46 balls.

IPL 2023 RCB vs MI: Rohit Sharma opened up about Bumrah's absence after a crushing loss at the hands of RCB in their opening game of the season.

Hats off to Tilak to get us to a competitive total. [Rohit Sharma](https://www.indiatvnews.com/topic/rohit-sharma) is quizzed about missing Bumrah almost everytime, while playing for India and MI as well. Some of the shots he played, showed a lot of courage. Clearly, they missed a bowler [Jasprit Bumrah](https://www.indiatvnews.com/topic/jasprit-bumrah) who has been out of action for almost a year now. [IPL](https://www.indiatvnews.com/topic/ipl) season for the 11th consecutive time on Sunday going down meekly to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). [Faf du Plessis](https://www.indiatvnews.com/topic/faf-du-plessis)' men chased down the target of 172 runs in just 16.1 overs while MI's inexperienced bowling line-up, despite the presence of Jofra Archer, got exposed on the evening.

Rohit Sharma's honest admission about playing without the services of Jasprit Bumrah became a talking point about fans after MI's loss against RCB on ...

We wanted to be courageous enough, and hats off to Tilak for getting us to the total. A lot of the guys haven't played IPL before. First game of the season, lot to look forward to,” Rohit told the match presenter. Hailed as one of the most dominating pacers of the era, Bumrah has been a key player for the five-time IPL champions ever since he made his debut for the team around a decade ago. [Rohit Sharma](https://www.republicworld.com/sports-news/ipl/mi-vs-rcb-mumbai-indians-skipper-rohit-sharma-registers-massive-milestone-in-ipl-2023-articleshow.html) was asked about the disadvantages of not having Bumrah by his side. Mumbai Indians were once again off to a losing start in the Indian Premier League campaign opener as they were defeated at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight wickets on Sunday.

IPL 2023: Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma said that he was used to playing without pacer Jasprit Bumrah after the five-time champions lost their series ...

That is something we spoke of - we want to be brave and courageous in the middle. We were struggling to play the catch-up game but Tilak was magnificent," Rohit concluded. "We didn't start well, and it was always a catching up game. We need to give them the support," he added. You can try and control the things that are in your control and those that are not in your control, you can't do that. "He is a very positive person, quite talented as well," Rohit said.

It is noteworthy that Bumrah has been away from cricket as he is recovering from his back injury.

"Didn't have a great start but was a good effort from Tilak at the end. First game of the season, a lot to look forward to," Rohit said in the post match press conference. A lot of the guys haven't played IPL before.