IPL Extras: Pollard-Starc spat was in heat of the game: Rohit

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma defended his teammate Kieron Pollard, saying the ugly spat involving the West Indian and Royal Challengers Bangalore's Mitchell Starc happened in the heat of the moment and will not be repeated.

The incident occurred in Mumbai on May 6.

- Pollard, Starc escape with fines for Wankhede spat

"We all have spoken to him. I thought whatever happened, happened in the heat of the game. Nobody wants to ruin the spirit of the game. It happened and we have spoken about it and we have to move forward now," Sharma said on the eve of the IPL defending champions' clash against two-time former winners Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede stadium.

"Pollard, we know, is an aggressive player. He didn't do anything purposely. As a captain it was my duty to explain or tell him what sort of behaviour you should have on field. We have had a word with him and he is okay with that. Hopefully he will not repeat such mistakes," he told reporters.

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Pollard charged with his bat at Australian left-arm pacer Starc after the he delivered the ball to him despite having backed off from the crease.

It was a despicable incident as Pollard had advanced menacingly at Starc before throwing his bat which, luckily, fell away from the bowler.

Starc was fined 50 per cent of his match fees and Pollard 75.

On Sunday’s game against formidable rivals Chennai, Sharma said it will be a very intense contest between two top sides.

"We want to take this as another game. We don't want to think too much about the opposition. We have played them so many times. We played against them in Dubai. We know what is their strength, what they don't like to do on the field. We know all those things and we are going to discuss that.

"It is a very important game. They have got some match winners. So it is going to be a great contest between these two teams. Last time they were here, we beat them comprehensively. So we will try and do that again. Obviously, it is a different team from what we had last year, so is their team," he said.

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In a big cash incentive to young players looking to make their presence felt in the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League, sponsors Pepsi have announced a prize of Rs 10,00,000 for the Emerging Player of the tournament.

The 'Pepsi Emerging Player award has been instituted by the company in partnership with the Board of Control for Cricket in India to promote budding stars at the tournament.

Players below the age of 26, with five or less ODI matches and 25 or less IPL matches under their belt, will be eligible for the award.

The winner will be named at the end of the tournament through a mix of a weekly leaderboard, public vote and selection of the commentators.

Deepika Warrier, vice-president - Marketing, PepsiCo India said, "Pepsi is an iconic brand that has always celebrated India's aspirations, dreams and attitudes. Our latest campaign is a salute to this attitude and confidence of the 'now' generation, backed by the stalwarts. Our commitment to create a gateway of opportunities for Emerging Talent has

been a key focus this year."

The cola giant is also set to release a television commercial featuring Virat Kohli and India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

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Defending champions Mumbai Indians have roped in Uttar Pradesh swing bowler Praveen Kumar as the replacement for the injured Zaheer Khan for the remainder of their campaign in the Indian Premier League.

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma tweeted Kumar's picture in the team's jersey and said, "Welcome mate good to have you!!!"

A team official also confirmed the development and said the India discard joined the team on Thursday and practised at the nets.

Kumar remained unsold at the player auction held earlier this year.

Zaheer Khan was ruled out of the tournament following a severe side strain after bowling just three deliveries of his final over in Mumbai's game against Kings XI Punjab on May 3.

Zaheer had strained his left latissmus dorsi muscle and did not play in the next game against Royal Challengers Bangalore before being ruled out of the remainder of the IPL-7 by medical opinion.