IPL 2023: Rohit Sharma not scoring runs is the main problem with his captaincy at Mumbai Indians, feels Ravi Shastri ahead of MI's game vs Royal Challengers Bangalore.
According to former India head coach Ravi Shastri, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma's work has doubled since he is not scoring runs himself. Ahead of Mumbai's match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Shastri told ESPNcricinfo that Sharma’s captaincy would have been easier if he himself would have been performing consistently this season.
“As a captain, more important is that your performances come into play. If you start getting on a purple patch where you are scoring runs, the job as a captain becomes much easier. The body language on the field changes, that energy on the field is different. It's totally different. As opposed to when you are not getting runs, you can go flat - no matter who you are,” Shastri said.
For the unversed, Sharma has scored 184 runs this season. He has tried to be aggressive up top, and it meant that he not only threw some wickets but also scored one half-century against Delhi Capitals. In a match against Chennai Super Kings, Sharma dropped himself to no. 3 position too.
Talking about him, Shastri said that Rohit is not the only soul to blame for Mumbai's poor game, and he should not be blamed only. In fact, it should go to the entire team because they are not exactly the most experienced unit in the tournament. He added that current MI team is not the one from two years back with the absence of the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard in their ranks.
“Plus, the resources you had 2-3 years ago aren't quite the same, then comes the challenge, how do you get going? How do you motivate that bunch? How do you create a combination? How do you see who is the best in that lot to fit in and deliver at a certain stage of the game? So the challenges as a captain might have doubled for him. The work as a captain would have doubled as opposed to two years ago," Shastri said.
Not to miss, Mumbai Indians have proved to be the most successful team in the history of the tournament, all of which has been under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. Shastri argued that the previous teams were easier to captain.
"Where everything was nice, go out there and do the job. Having said that, you still have to captain a side. Which you did brilliantly. It's harder. The stage of his career, and the kind of team that they have. The same team could be a terrific team. In a year's time or 2 years' time. Once they start getting together, but to get that right mix, that's the job of the captain,” Shastri signed off.
