3 reasons why MI should stick with Rohit Sharma despite his poor form in IPL 2023
While Mumbai Indians are well placed on the IPL 2023 points table, one of their biggest concerns is the form of their captain, Rohit Sharma. Rohit has endured a miserable run in this year's Indian Premier League, having scored only 191 runs in 11 games at a disappointing strike-rate of 124.84.
A layman would say that this is just a temporary form issue. but if the numbers from previous seasons are looked at, one can glean that Rohit's slump is not specific to IPL 2023.
Rohit has endured a tough run in the last six years and his poor form with the bat has been shielded because of Mumbai's overall performance as a team and his captaincy.
This year though, plenty of questions are being raised about Rohit's position in the team. Pundits have suggested for Rohit to be dropped from the side with immediate effect. But should MI do that?
Here, we look 3 reasons why MI should stick with MI despite his poor form in IPL 2023.
#1 His experience
Since making his IPL debut back in 2008, the Indian skipper has featured in 238 games, scoring 6070 runs at a strike-rate of a shade under 130. Now these numbers speak of immense experience, something which definitely cannot be bought.
MI's current line-up includes quite a few youngsters like Ishan Kishan, Cameron Green, Tilak Verma and Nehal Wadhera. As such, the presence of an experienced campaigner is imperative to maintan the core of the team. His mere presence will have a calming effect on the others who are still learning things at this level.
#2 What he offers
Rohit Sharma's value to the Mumbai Indians goes way beyond his batting. Over the years, Mumbai Indians have almost become synonymous with Rohit Sharma. That is the kind of service Rohit has done to the franchise. As a captain, he has led MI to 5 IPL titles in 10 years, which is an absolutely incredible feat considering the highly competitive nature of the tournament.
This year, MI started off slowly but are now 3rd in the points table and are actually well placed to go through to the playoffs. Although he hasn't turned up with the bat, he has led extremely well, that too whilst handling one of the weakest bowling attacks this year. Rohit will have a huge role to play in the business end of the tournament and his leadership will be crucial if MI are to challenge the other teams for a sixth title.
#3 Steps up in the big games
Despite having poor seasons, Rohit has shown a tendency to rise to the occasion in big games. In the final of IPL 2015, he smashed a superb half-century at a strike-rate of almost 200. Then in 2017, he made valuable contributions in Qualifier 2 and the Final which were both low-scoring affairs. Again in the final of IPL 2020, he scored 68 crucial runs to help MI chase down a total of 157 runs.
MI will be aware of Rohit's contributions in big games and will hope for him to step up this year during crunch time again. Rohit himself will be desperate to repay the faith that his franchise has shown in him.