The IPL 2024 campaign has been a rollercoaster of performances, emotions and results for everyone, players and fans alike. 

Gerald Coetzee -  The ‘Karate Kid’ - was marked as one to watch out for, and in a proper testament, made his mark with the ball in this competition, grabbing 13 wickets in 10 games. In his own words, he says this journey has been incredible.

“It's been incredible. I think it's lived up to the hype,” Coetzee said at the pre-match conference for KKRvMI on Friday (May 10). “It's been incredibly challenging from a cricket point of view, which is exactly what I want from my career,” he added.

“I think I've learnt a lot. I've done good things. I've made mistakes. I'll take that, and hopefully, in future IPLs, I can come back and learn and rectify.”

And his journey in the MI Blue couldn’t be more blessed than rubbing shoulders with Jasprit Bumrah. There are two keywords he’d be taking from Boom - ‘simplicity’ and ‘accuracy’.

“I think it comes down to simplicity and accuracy, and I think he's done that better than any other bowler in this competition. It's as simple as that,” he said.

In a league where you have to play with your utmost ability to defy the unpredictability factor, Coetzee rates the influence of Hardik Pandya as an incredible skipper to his career.

“He's been a really good captain. I think as you get different captaincy styles, he's got a unique style that is unique to him, and no captain is the same. He's been really good. He's been really motivational to the guys, he's been unequivocal with the plans, and I think he's an exceptional captain,” he said.

Lastly, the Proteas speedster touched upon how the team remains always focused on doing their best in upcoming games.

“When you start losing games, everyone starts looking for a reason,” a direct hint at the narratives thrown at the team. However, the mood in the dressing room has been really good. We've done our best every game, prepared well, made some mistakes, and sometimes been outplayed.

“Still, the mood continues to be good, and we've got strong leaders and really good players. There's not too much to look into there. It's been a good mood consistently, right throughout.”

Paltan, it’s the penultimate game of the season, and like always, your support and love energises us to perform on the field. It’s our last away game, and we look forward to seeing you flood the Eden Gardens with Aamchi Mumbai’s colours.