'It was frustrating personally' - Tim David recounts being benched by Mumbai Indians in IPL 2022

Tim David opened up on his stint with the Mumbai Indians at the IPL 2022, including a “frustrating” phase of being on the sidelines.
 By CX Staff Writer Updated: May 27, 2022, 17:30 IST
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David scored 186 runs from eight outings while maintaining an outstanding strike-rate of 216.28 in IPL 2022.

Tim David’s displaying the full range of his hitting prowess in the second half of the IPL 2022  was one of the few bright spots for the Mumbai Indians in an otherwise disappointing campaign. The five-time champions finished at the bottom of the points table with just four wins from 14 games, after having lost eight on the bounce at the start of the campaign.

The Singapore all–rounder, who was roped in for a whopping INR 8.25 crores at the 2022 auctions, was a part of the MI starting XI initially, before being left out with the team trying different combinations.

The Singapore batter, who will now represent Lancashire at the T20 Blast in England, opened up on the frustrating time of warming the benches mid-season.

Tim David

"It wasn't ideal," David told ESPNcricinfo, speaking from his new home ground the day after landing in the UK. "It was just a team balance thing. It being the start of a new cycle, teams were trying to find their best combinations and unfortunately, I found myself out of the side.

"I felt like I was batting as well as I ever have. It was frustrating personally but you can't look at it as anything more than that, and I knew it was my job to be ready to go when I got back in the team. I'm really pleased I took that opportunity when it came."

David did make his presence felt when the opportunity presented itself, with match-winning knocks against the Rajasthan Royals (20* off 9), Gujarat Titans (44* off 21), Chennai Super Kings (16* off 7) and the Delhi Capitals (34 off 11), while also putting on a show against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (46 off 18) in a narrow three-run defeat.


He ended the season with 186 runs from eight outings while maintaining an outstanding strike-rate of 216.28.

 "I feel like I improved a lot, which was my biggest goal," he says. "You can't control performances on the field but I felt like if I grew as a player over two-and-a-half months there, it would put me in good stead moving forwards and I'm pretty pleased with how I progressed."

The 26-year-old, who has scored 558 runs from 14 T20Is at an impressive 46.50, has been a much sought after player in various other T20 leagues, having been a part of the Perth Scorchers and Hobart Hurricanes (BBL) Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans (PSL), St. Lucia Kings (CPL) and the Southern Brave (The Hundred) previously. He was a part of the RCB setup in 2021, and had scored 1 against CSK in his only outing for the franchise.


 

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