Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri says Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Rohit Sharma should take his time at the bat before going crazy in the remaining Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 games.
Rohit has struggled with the bat in the competition, with two ducks in his past two appearances. Shastri noted that the Mumbai skipper should learn from his own performance in the 50-over format, where the great opener continues to score consistently.
According to Shastri, if Rohit becomes ‘more selective’ in the bowlers he wants to target and gets set, he has the potential to burst towards the finish of the innings as well.
Here’s what Ravi Shastri had to say about Rohit Sharma’s T20 form in an interview with ESPNCricinfo:
“Rohit is a master of the 50-over game and you can rank him with the greats. But there’s a method to even the madness in T20s. He gives himself time in 50-over game and then goes beserk. Maybe he can try that because he is a power hitter and he can hit fours and sixes at will. It’s just about saying to yourself, ‘I will go after the bowling in the powerplay and be selective in my stroke making.'”
Ravi Shastri on Rohit Sharma’s captaincy
The past couple of seasons haven’t been ideal for Mumbai Indians and have tested Rohit Sharma’s captaincy abilities with a relatively new squad. Cricket pundits like Simon Doull made bold claims that while his captaincy was outstanding, it was mainly due to MI’s excellent team.
While Ravi Shastri agreed with Doull, he also thought that Rohit’s poor form had an impact on his captaincy. He stated, “
“(On Simon Doull saying Rohit got a great team to captain) That’s a fair point. When you score runs and are in a purple patch, then the captaincy becomes a lot easier. The resources he had 2-3 years ago are also not the same. The captaincy has got harder.”