Mumbai, April 28: Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma is going through a rough patch at IPL 2022. His bat doesn’t speak loudly, nor is there any special shine to his captaincy seen during previous editions of the tournament.
After eight losses in as many matches, speculation abounds in certain sections of the media that Rohit Sharma could be included in the long list of captains who were replaced by their teams in the middle of an IPL season. The change of captain could change the fortunes of the five-time champion team in the IPL 2022, which is almost out of contention for the playoffs.
The likes of spearhead Jasprit Bumrah (hasn’t taken many wickets), goalkeeper Ishan Kishan (off color) or middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav could replace Sharma as Mumbai captain.
Bumrah, serving as vice-captain of the Indian team in the South African ODI series and Tests against Sri Lanka, has been a consistent ground-taker for the Mumbai Indians. In the 2020 edition, Bumrah scalped 27 wickets in 15 matches with an economy of 6.73, helping MI win their fifth title. But at IPL 2022, Bumrah picked just five wickets in eight matches at an economic rate of 7.54. Also, Bumrah does not have the necessary support from other bowlers to lead Mumbai to victory.
In-form batsman Suryakumar Yadav could be the other one who can replace Rohit Sharma as captain of the Mumbai Indians. In his six innings, Yadav has scored 239 runs at an average of 47.80, with a strike rate of 151.26. With an excellent performance, he is expected to be a strong captaincy candidate for the Mumbai Indians.
The most expensive pick in the IPL 2022 mega auction at INR 15.5 crore, Ishan Kishan has not been in his best form, but he is a captaincy prospect for the Mumbai Indians due to his prolific batting skills and groundskeeping, as well as captaining India at the 2016 U-19 Men’s World Cup in Bangladesh.
Although Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene said there is no problem with Rohit’s batting, but when the team leader cannot perform well, it can have a negative effect on the morale of the entire unit. Jayawardene supported the embattled Rohit Sharma and said that he is in a good mood.
“I don’t see any problem with Rohit’s hitting. Yeah, hitting in general has been a concern for us, especially on good wickets where we’ve been hitting under par. This is a senior group that understands the conditions and performed in the We need to keep pushing and if we need to make those changes, we will, I need to review this and talk to the rest of the coaches as well and make some plans,” Jayawardene said when asked about possible changes to the hitting mix after a 36-run blowout at the hands of Lucknow Super Giants at Wankhede Stadium.
However, Mumbai’s ‘overhaul’ in captaincy, which comes after eight straight defeats, might not be enough to revive the fortunes of the five-time champions, who now face an early exit from the tournament after failing to open your account in the points table.