It’s nearly time, the time to ensure our month-long effort culminates in the title. From our bowlers setting the tournament on fire, to the batters stepping up, to the conditions on offer, MI Emirates skipper, Nicholas Pooran, dives into a range of questions at the pre-match press conference in Dubai on Friday (February 16) ahead of the ILT20 2024 final. Excerpts..

On the bowlers performing exceptionally well

We spoke at the beginning of the tournament, that batsmen win you games but bowlers win you tournaments. Nice to see bowlers stepping up in these conditions and putting those performances in. Not just Fazalhaq Farooqi and Trent Boult but Akeal has been brilliant as well. Bravo is doing what he always does. We definitely cherish that and we are happy. 

On the MI emirates openers, Muhammad Waseem and Kusal Perera

Those guys have been fantastic. But in T20 cricket it is all about adjusting to the conditions and the opposition. It is a big challenge where you play one attack today and then a completely different attack the next day. 

On Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo

You can’t buy experience. Not only experience, but that firepower and leadership qualities. We have the opportunity to learn from them. They have the won the most T20 titles, have the most wickets, have played the most matches. 

On the local UAE talent in the team

Waseem has been brilliant not just this year, but last year as well. It is important to have this tournament for these players. Really happy to see him getting the opportunity to see him do what he does. With the amount of T20 cricket happening in the world at the moment, good opportunity for him to showcase his talent to the world. When it comes to Rohid, we are just really happy for him. Bravo just loves this kid and the energy he brings. Rohid finds himself in a situation where if Boult doesn’t start well, we have to give him some overs. He is just happy to take the ball and run in with energy. That attitude makes a lot of difference. We are just happy for him that he gets this opportunity to express himself and learn at the same time. Just brilliant to have him and see how he goes. 

Thoughts on the conditions on offer

We expected earlier in the tournament that the pacers will have an impact. We knew there would be grass on the wicket and the ball would seam. Coming from the T10 tournament, we knew the ball would seam. But as the tournament goes along, the wicket slows down. Wrist spin is really important in world cricket and there is no surprise that these guys are having such an impact. 

His summary of MI Emirates’ campaign so far

We didn’t get off to the best start losing the first game of the tournament. For us it was just about understanding the conditions. In two years we won just one game in Dubai. Playing the last game was a challenge because we knew that if we wanted to qualify for the final, we had to win that game. We have been fantastic in Abu Dhabi and have had a 100% record in Sharjah. We had to come up with tactics. As a group we wanted to win. And to win, we need to step up as players. A lot of our players have been consistent. This is a long tournament. Form can change as well. But the fact of the matter was that we wanted to do well for the team and the franchise. Yes personnel have changed because of the international schedule and there is some chopping and changing, but the message is the same – giving 110% on the field and the results would take care of themselves.