The flamboyant Lendl Simmons whose 82* run innings carried West Indies to a nail-biting seven-wicket win in the last over of the semi-final, spoke to Mumbaiindians.com about his experience in the ICC World Twenty20.

Simmons flew in at the last moment to fill in for an injured Andre Fletcher. This was his first game in the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. The right-hander expressed his delight at playing his first match in the WT20 Wankhede Stadium’s familiar surrounds: “[I] was a bit pressured before the game but wasn’t nervous when I got in because I know of the conditions and I know about this place. I saw that the ball was coming on to the bat and with a little bit of dew the ball would slide, so it was a good feeling playing at the Wankhede.” As a player for the Mumbai Indians, Simmons has practiced and played at MI’s home ground Wankhede, so knowing the pitch and conditions and being acclimatised to it was expected.

Playing for the Mumbai Indians has fetched Simmons a large fan following in India. We asked him what the fans were like when he played against India & were they flooding the stand and cheering in support as they do it in the IPL? He chuckled and replied, “I know I play for MI, but on that day, I didn’t have such fans as I was playing against India in India. So I won’t say I had a lot of fans and I didn’t think I made a lot of fans after the game.”
Even champions need to celebrate from time to time, and he most certainly did that after the West Indies won the ICC World Twnety20 final. But who does Simmons celebrate with the most in MI colours? “I think when it comes to celebrations I look up to Pandya. He knows how to celebrate, how to have a good time. Bhajji [Harbhajan Singh], Pollard they all know how to have a good time and you need to enjoy when you are in because it doesn’t happen every day” he replied reminiscing with a smile on his face.

Simmons has been with the Mumbai Indians since 2014 and having played two seasons, and his aim for the upcoming IPL season is clear and succinct, “My aim for this season is one to get a good start and then go on and win. I will be very consistent and once you become consistent with your performance you will win matches.”

Simmons is likely to play a crucial role in MI’s IPL 2016 campaign as the opener eyes another trophy-laden season.