Tim David has been busy making a name for himself in T20 leagues around the world over the past few years.

Boasting a career T20 strike-rate of 159, David is particularly destructive against pacers, which explains why MI bid hard for him and eventually acquired him for ₹8.25 cr.

Speaking exclusively to mumbaiindians.com David said, “I am excited to get in and be a part of the MI squad. I think it is great to be picked up by such a successful team, I have heard good things about how MI looks after their players and it has a great fan base. There is always the pressure to perform and you want to help the team win but the overall feeling is one of excitement.”

Standing well over 6 feet tall, the Singaporean is a powerful hitter of the ball who bats in the middle order and can also bowl a bit.

The profile closely resembles someone who is already an MI legend in Kieron Pollard and David is eager to get out in the middle with the big man.

“It is an exciting idea to bat with him. Polly is someone I have admired for his power hitting and have looked at some of his innings to see how I can do that myself. If we could get going in the middle and death overs, we could take a few games away!” he stated.

With that particular goal in mind, Tim David will certainly be thankful that a certain Jasprit Bumrah is part of the same team and not in the opposition.

And while some may shy away from wanting to face a bowler of Bumrah’s class, Tim David is ready to embrace that challenge.

“One bowler I am looking forward to facing the most in the nets is Bumrah. I know it sounds strange because he is one of the best in the world but I believe it will be great to test myself against him. I am sure it is going to be hard work,” he declared.

Apart from Polly and Boom, the MI dressing room has quite an array of stars and David is particularly excited to share it with one player.

“Rohit Sharma is a world-class player. He just looks so effortless when he bats, it’s very admirable. It is a huge bonus to be able to spend time with class players and try to pick their brains a little bit,” he revealed.

Interacting with Rohit Sharma could certainly be something that ties in with Tim David’s own batting philosophy.

“I try to keep it simple. I could come in a lot of different situations but my aim is always to have a positive approach and be willing to take some risks. Sometimes it may not come off but there is no better feeling than hitting one off the middle of the bat and it going for a big six,” David chuckled.

The all-rounder - who idolised greats like Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist as a youngster - will have the opportunity to work with someone of a similar ilk in head coach Mahela Jayawardene.

“It will be wonderful to be around some experienced international cricketers like Mahela and Zaheer Khan just to see how they go about their jobs and how they performed over a long period of time,” said David.

“I am looking forward to spending more time with Mahela to see what advice he might have for me to improve and take my game to the next level,” he concluded.

A thrilling player with some lofty ambitions in mind, it will be interesting to see how the season pans out for the batter, who promises to be a blockbuster addition to the MI family.

Are you excited to see Tim David in action, Paltan?