IPL 2022: Rohit Sharma needs to show his class to revive Mumbai Indians' fortunes

Neither as a captain or a batter, Rohit Sharma has looked up to the mark for Mumbai Indians, in the IPL 2022.

Rohit Sharma plays a shot, Image credit: Twitter
By Samrat Chakraborty | Apr 16, 2022 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Rohit Sharma has made immense contributions for Mumbai Indians both as a captain and a world-class batter to make them the most successful franchise in the Indian Premier League. His effort remains second to none and can hardly be ignored in bringing new talents to the fore and believing in them to help them grow in their career. 

And even though there remains nothing to prove for the India captain in the franchise cricket, he surely needs to up his ante, to help the Mumbai franchise remain in contention of qualifying for the playoffs. The scenario can turn out to be even more difficult for the five-time champions as the new-look side have lost five matches on the trot in the 10-franchise lucrative tournament. 

READ MORE: Aman Khan: How an accident became the turning point for the KKR debutant 

Rohit Sharma under-par with his batting performance 

The Mumbai Indians opener has struggled with his batting performance in the early phase of IPL 2022. He has notched up the scores of 41, 10, 3, 26 and 28 in his last five innings which has highlighted his inconsistency for the side. 

Sharma has also been under-par in the IPL 2022 as far as his average of 30.91 is concerned. He has, so far, accumulated 108 runs with an average of 21.61 which is questionable for a batter who makes shot-making look easy with his elegant strokes. 

But one fiery knock might help the Mumbai Indians captain return to his natural form. 

Rohit Sharma assembling a brand new Mumbai Indians’ side 

Mumbai Indians had retained the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard apart from the captain, himself, ahead of the IPL mega auction while some proven names for the franchise like all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya were neither retained nor bought by the side. 

Sharma has his task cut out in the IPL 2022 as he not only needs to take the charge with the bat but also assemble a brand new unit which might need some time and test his ability as a captain all over again. 

The squad has largely relied on young talents like Dewald Brevis, Basil Thampi, N Tilak Varma, Daniel Sams and Tim David while England pace ace Jofra Archer has added to their woes by missing out due to an injury. 

Rohit Sharma backed by Mumbai Indians’ head coach

His substantial dip in form might have caught attention of one and all, with Mumbai Indians’ head coach Mahela Jayawardene in agreement, but he believes that it’s only about time that the prolific India opener finds his rhythm. 

“If you look at the way he starts, the way he hits the ball, it’s brilliant. He’s timing it, he’s getting some really, really good starts. Yes, he’s disappointed as well, that he’s not being able to convert them,” Jayawardene said at the post-match press conference. 

“We’ve seen Rohit batting deep, batting for 14-15 overs and getting those big scores. It’s just a matter of time. He’s a quality player and I am not concerned about the form as such,” he added.





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