Follow UsMumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene has backed former captain Rohit Sharma to come good after the opener registered yet another low score in Match 20 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on April 7 (Monday).
Rohit scored 17 off 9 deliveries before getting knocked over by left-arm seamer Yash Dayal. This season, the right-hander has managed only 38 runs in four innings at an average of less than 10.
In fact, Rohit has scored just 158 runs at an average of 14.36 and a strike rate of 125.4 across his last 11 innings in the IPL. He has crossed the 20-run mark just once in this period, and is yet to breach the 20-run mark this season in four attempts.
Since IPL 2023, no other batter has been dismissed in the powerplay (overs 1-6) more times than Rohit (22). Amongst batters who have faced at least 200 deliveries in the powerplay since IPL 2023, Rohit has the second-worst average (24.59) after now-retired Wriddhiman Saha (20.85).
In this period, Rohit has also gotten out to left-arm seamers on nine occasions and is averaging just 19 against them. Earlier this season, Chennai Super Kings’ left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed dismissed him for a duck, before RCB’s Dayal knocked him over with a superb inswinger last night.
"For right-handed batsmen, left-armers (dismissal) is a natural thing. It's been there for many years. I can remember Vaasy (Chaminda Vaas) doing the same thing for many teams, Wasim Akram doing the same thing, so it's just a natural angle. I'm sure Rohit's been working on it, he's been practising hard and he's a very experienced player,” said Jayawardene.
"He was trying to give us a good start and he played some really good shots. Dayal actually bowled a good ball. It was late-swing and fuller, got through Rohit's defence. When you have played the game for that long, you need to sometimes give credit to the bowlers as well. I wouldn't read into that too much, but yeah, it's something that I'm sure Rohit will work hard on."
MI have lost four of their five fixtures so far in the IPL 2025, and will next take on in-form Delhi Capitals in an away game on April 13.