ILT20: Trent Boult rates 2020 IPL title finish with Mumbai Indians among career highlights

New Zealand and MI Emirates pace spearhead Trent Boult credited the research and hard work put in by the support staff of the franchise for the progress to the play-offs of the ongoing ILT20 competition here. The MI Emirates finished third on the ILT20 table after registering five wins from their 10 outings and are all set to face off Dubai Capitals in the Eliminator in Sharjah on Thursday.

Counting his association with the Mumbai Indians’ IPL-winning side in 2020 as one of his ‘finest cricketing memories’, the 33-year-old left-armer said, “The 2020 IPL campaign with the Mumbai Indians was probably one of my finest cricketing memories. It was Covid and coming to a new environment, was excited to come into a prestigious franchise. 

To get a chance to play under Rohit Sharma alongside Kieron Pollard, and the coaching staff, and work so hard across the league stage and reaching the knockouts, and push forward to win the trophy was obviously one of the highlights of my career so far.”

 “The things I learnt from them (MI team management) are how they like to keep things simple, how much they support the guys to do the job and also the amount of work they put in while preparing and research, which is very important when you go into a new tournament like the ILT20. This is the reason why we are here in the play-offs,” he explained.

 Boult also spoke on his association with former Kiwi seamer and MI Emirates head coach Shane Bond, and hailed his cool and calm approach while leading the franchise to the knock-out stages.

 “I have known Shane for a long time, and had the experiences with him at the Mumbai Indians, before moving to the MI Emirates. It’s been an enjoyable one as well. He’s a guy who keeps it very clear, he’s nice and calm under any situation which is a key attribute for any coach. He’s been leading the group very well, and hopefully can take it all the way,” he said.

 Boult, who has been instrumental in leading the MI Emirates bowling attack with early wickets is happy to be a part of the leadership group, while hailing the bowling group for adapting to the ever-changing conditions in the UAE.

 “The best thing about these leagues is players from so many nationalities come together and all have played T20 leagues across the world, which makes it very exciting. I have really enjoyed how (Dwayne) Bravo, (Imran) Tahir and the others share their views and inspire the younger guys in the side,” he said.

 “In this part of the world where the wickets keep changing, I think the boys have been really smart, taking on the hardest options in the simplest of ways. A lot of hard work is still to be done but I think we can go all the way. One of the biggest challenges as a bowler is reading the wickets and bowling according to the plans,” he added.

 Boult also heaped praises on skipper Pollard, rating him as one of the toughest batters he has ever come across, and believes that the kind of experience, the Trinidadian brings, certainly makes him one of the strongest leaders.

 “It’s been an exciting bowling attack to be a part of, and obviously from the experience that the captain Kieron Pollard brings, he understands the game pretty well. It’s always good to have such a strong leader,” he said.