Rohit Sharma buries his face after CSK loss, makes brutally critical ‘seniors need to step up’ self-assessment

The Mumbai Indians faced a devastating six-wicket defeat to Chennai Super Kings in their second match of the 2023 Indian Premier League on Saturday night.

Rohit Sharma’s men endured another tough outing in the season – this time at home – days after the side’s humbling at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore. The MI side had finished at the bottom of the table in the 2022 season with only four wins to their name and if their performance in the two first games this year is any indication, the 2023 edition could go awry for Mumbai as well.

After being invited to bat by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the MI batters faced a collapse in the middle-order following the early wickets of Rohit Sharma (21) and Ishan Kishan (32); the side ended its innings on 157/8. The Super Kings, however, chased down the target in the 19th over of the innings as local boy Ajinkya Rahane produced a scintillating batting performance on his CSK debut, scoring 61 off just 27 deliveries.

Following the toss, a devastated Rohit Sharma buried his face under the MI cap as he proceeded to walk towards the dressing room.

Rohit had a disappointing outing in 2022, scoring only 268 runs in 14 appearances without any 50+ score to his name. In this season, the MI captain has 22 runs from two matches and Rohit was brutally critical in his self-assessment following the loss, as he urged the senior players to step up.

“We lost our way in the middle, did not capitalise on the start we got. It was a good pitch, 30-40 runs short and could not capitalise in the middle overs. Got to credit their spinners, they bowled well and kept us under pressure. You need to try out different things, you need to attack and be brave.

We have got a couple of young guys and got to give some time to them. They have real talent and we have to back them and show trust in their ability which we are doing. The senior guys need to step up starting with me. We know the nature of IPL, when the tournament starts we need to get some momentum and when you don’t it is tough,” Rohit said.

The Mumbai Indians will return to action on April 11 when the side takes on Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.