The second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) double-header on Sunday did not go according to the plan for five-time champions Mumbai Indians as they lost their opening game to RCB. All eyes were on the skipper Rohit Sharma but he too struggled to time the ball and eventually departed for 1 run from 10 balls. Similarly in their second game against Chennai, Rohit Sharma’s struggle continued as he showed some flashes of brilliance but departed for just 21 runs.
Mumbai Indians also made an unwanted record, as now they have lost their 11th consecutive IPL opening game but on the brighter side on five occasions they have gone on to clinch the title as well.
Most successful IPL Captain
Interestingly, Rohit Sharma has won five IPL titles despite losing their opening fixture in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. He took over the reins from Ricky Ponting in 2013 midway after a dismal start & led them to the title.
He has now led Mumbai in 144 matches with a W/L percentage of 56.25%, the second-best among the players who captained more than 100 matches. Only MS Dhoni is above him with a W/L percentage of 58.76%. Although he is the most decorated captain with 5 titles to his name in IPL history.
Rohit Sharma’s Struggle
The third-highest run-scorer & the most successful captain in IPL’s history, Rohit Sharma’s struggle has extended for quite some time now in the IPL. His last fifty came against Kings XI Punjab almost 2 years ago. His struggles are reflected in the fact that he’s scored only one half-century in 28 innings and now he has gone 15 IPL matches without scoring a fifty. A rare stat for a player of his caliber.
His 5764 runs have come at a strike rate of 130, with an average of 30.66. Among the six batters who have scored more than 5000 runs in the IPL, Rohit’s average is the worst and strike rate the second worst.
Across the last six seasons (2017-2022), Rohit has scored more than 400 runs only once in 2019, averaged below 30 each year, and struck at a strike rate of 130 only in 2018.
Also read: Pakistan’s T20i Squad: Balancing Emerging Squad as Senior Players Return Under Babar’s Captaincy
Criticism by fans
Questions over his fitness and a place in T20I are rising especially when a lot of young Indian batting talent is waiting in the ranks. A lot of fans retorted to Twitter to express their anger & body-shamed the Indian skipper for being too fat and unfit to lead the side.
Some joked that Rohit was preparing for the World Test Championship final while others argued that his T20 career is over & he should give the reins to Suryakumar Yadav.
Should Rohit be dropped?
A lot of people are calling for Rohit to step aside from the captaincy of Mumbai Indians and give somebody else a fresh start to lead the side just like Ponting did in 2013. With Ishan Kishan also struggling for runs at the top and Cameron Green batting out of his ideal position at the top order, Mumbai is reeling in the powerplay & have failed to utilize the fielding restrictions.
This leaves Mumbai with two options, either demote Rohit or drop him. His best season in IPL came when he batted in the middle order but he has abandoned that position for a long time now. Even Anil Kumble called on Rohit to bat at no.4 for Mumbai this season saying you need experience in the middle order.
For surely the all-format skipper of the Indian cricket team can’t be dropped but Rohit needs to come up with a solution to solve Mumbai’s woes. With World Cup just six months away, Indian fans would be hoping that their captain comes good and have some runs under his belt in an all-important year
