Rohit Sharma’s performance in IPL 2024 has taken a downturn. The Indian captain initially scored 261 runs in the first six matches for the Mumbai Indians, but as the tournament progressed, he struggled to maintain his form. In the following six games, Rohit only managed to score 69 runs, while his strike rate also dropped. Initially scoring at 167, his strike rate fell to 115 in the latter half of the tournament.
Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock commented on Rohit’s sudden decline in form, mentioning how people attributed his return to form to no longer carrying the burden of captaincy in the IPL, but recent games have disproved this theory.
“He’ll be disappointed with that. He got off to a fiery start. Some people were saying, ‘Look he’s no longer captain so he’s getting back to his old form’. He’s still got two more games so hopefully he fires before he heads off to the World Cup,” Pollock said on Cricbuzz.
Pollock expressed concern about the manner in which Rohit was getting dismissed, highlighting specific instances where his shot selections led to soft dismissals.
Rohit was visibly emotional during the MI vs SRH match, indicating his frustration with his current form.
T20 World Cup squad selection played a part in Rohit’s dip in form
Pollock suggested that the focus on selecting the T20 World Cup squad may have added to the stress for Rohit, impacting his batting form.
“I presume for the last few weeks, there has been a few conversations about trying to pick the Indian team. With that stress of finding the right balance, which player should be picked, all of a sudden, you are back in captaincy mode…. The naming of the side, going to the press conference, explaining why you have picked a certain may have added to the stress,” Pollock added.
While MI’s chances of making it to the playoffs are slim, Rohit will aim to regain his form in the remaining two league games to be better prepared for the upcoming World Cup.
