Despite Mumbai Indians’ seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at Wankhede Stadium on Monday, questions about Rohit Sharma’s performance in Twenty20 cricket remained. Since firing that century against Chennai Super Kings, Rohit’s bad record has persisted, worrying the supporters as India prepares to play in the T20 World Cup in less than a month. The forgettable run seemed to have destroyed Rohit as well, as the former MI captain appeared unhappy in the dressing room following his removal for just four runs.
In T20 cricket, Rohit’s poor batting performance led to his removal as captain. However, in his first seven innings this season, he scored 297 runs, including an undefeated 105 against CSK and 49 against Delhi Capitals, both at home. But he scored just 34 runs in his following five games, four of those were in single digits.
Rohit was removed from the game by opposition captain Pat Cummins’ length delivery during the Mumbai Sunrisers encounter. He intended to play it off his hips and flick it over square, but he rushed the shot and took the lead, which caused the ball to soar far into the air. Heinrich Klaasen, the wicketkeeper, easily grabbed it to finish off the dismissal.
Rohit walked back to the pavilion with his head down, upset at being sent out for yet another poor score. Afterwards, in the MI dressing room, the cameras saw him looking nearly tearful.
Images and videos of Rohit in the MI dressing room breaking down went viral on social media:
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra felt going into the match against Sunrisers that Rohit had lost his rhythm following a stellar season opener, which had him worried with the T20 World Cup quickly approaching.
“In the last four games-Rohit Sharma, Delhi, Lucknow, and this one against KKR-I believe his maximum score is maybe 11. That is why I am concentrating on him first. Things don’t go well with this. After scoring 300–325 runs and hitting a century at this ground, he made a strong start to the competition but has since simply faded from view. On his YouTube channel, Chopra stated, “You don’t want that.”
Before the Indian players leave for the USA, where they will play their opening match against Ireland on June 5, Rohit will still have two more opportunities in the IPL 2024 to reclaim his form.