Does Rohit Sharma need ‘break’ like Virat Kohli? Ravi Shastri gives his verdict on MI captain’s batting woes

While Mumbai Indians ended their mediocre IPL season on a winning note, Rohit Sharma prolonged his mediocre spell with the bat as the batter perished for just 2 against Delhi Capitals on Saturday.

The Mumbai Indians leader witnessed a botched IPL season where he amassed just 268 runs from 14 innings at an average of 19.14, which is his worst-ever batting campaign in the tournament’s history. IPL 2022 Full Coverage

Rohit’s brief stay against Delhi saw him getting off the mark with a single after facing nine dot deliveries. He was eventually removed by Anrich Nortje as he walked back after scoring a scratchy 13-ball 2 at the Wankhede stadium. Rohit’s batting display was directly proportional to his IPL team’s performance this year. Mumbai recorded their worst-ever season to finish with the wooden spoon for the first time since the league’s inception in 2008.

Fans and pundits have called for a ‘break’ for Virat Kohli, who has had a subdued IPL season with three ducks in 14 games. But does Rohit join the list as well? Former India head coach believes the current India captain doesn’t need an interval as he missed a large chunk of the recent overseas tours owing to injuries.

“I don’t think Rohit needs a break. In case of Virat, he’d played every game for 1-1.5 years. In case of Rohit, he’s had breaks. He didn’t go to South Africa. He missed half of the Australian tour. It’s just one of those seasons where nothing clicked from the team’s point of view. They are a proud combination and waiting to end the season well. So would Rohit, and he will get a break after that in any case. He will get 10-14 days before going to England,” Shastri told Star Sports before the start of the MI-DC game.

Talking about five-time IPL winners Mumbai, Shastri pointed out how a change in team composition has led to their recent slump. He suggested that the franchise should conceal its flaws by adding a batter in the middle order and finding a suitable bowling ally for Jasprit Bumrah.

“They (Mumbai) will sit back and see which are the areas where they can tighten up… like sprucing up the middle order and getting another fast bowler to support Jasprit Bumrah. Because for years, they had an established side. But suddenly after the auction, there are five-six players who go away. You have a new bunch of players and it’s not easy to assemble a unit. Hopefully, they (Mumbai) will learn from their mistakes,” he further added.

Rohit himself talked about his batting struggles after Mumbai’s last game of the season on Saturday. “A lot of things that I wanted to do didn’t happen,” said Rohit, who finished without a single fifty in the season for the first time in his IPL career.

“But this has happened with me earlier as well, so it’s not something I am going through for the first time. … I need to take care of the mental aspect and think about how I can return to form and perform.”

“It was a bit disappointing season for us as we couldn’t execute our plans at the start of the tournament,” Rohit further said. “In tournaments like the IPL, you have to build that momentum.”