IPL 2021: "I have no reasons to defend him" - Gautam Gambhir why Rohit Sharma never had that one big IPL season ever
Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir has been left perplexed by Rohit Sharma. The right-hand batter is a modern-day legend, especially in white-ball cricket. However, Sharma has never had a thriving season in the IPL individually. While lauding his exceptional talent, Gambhir criticized the Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper for not producing a 600-run season - like Virat Kohli and KL Rahul.
Since 2017, 'Hitman' has never gone past the 405-run mark in a single IPL campaign, averaging around 27.6 for his franchise.
While speaking with ESPNcricinfo, the former cricketer-turned commentator was baffled, pondering why Rohit never had that one big IPL season ever. He opined:
"I don't understand why he never had that one big IPL season ever. And I have no reason to probably even defend him. He's a world-class player, I've always admired him, when he first busted onto the scene in international cricket. I said even then, that he's the best talent India has ever produced. And then proved himself in the int. stage but it just amazes me that when he wears that MI Jersey, he's never had a season like what VK or KL Rahul had - a 600 run season"
The 39-year old mentioned that it amazes him that Rohit Sharma never had a massive impact on the IPL, despite having the ability to score runs at his will. He said:
"And I don't know why. Someone who's got so much of the ability to score runs at will, doesn't have that kind of impact in the IPL."
"His approach has been timid in the IPL" - Gambhir on Rohit Sharma.
The former Indian opener was also critical regarding Sharma's approach in the IPL. He elucidated the fact that the MI skipper goes into a shell while batting in the cash-rich league.
Gambhir believes the kind of lineup the Mumbai Indians have should make Rohit bat aggressively. While playing 12 matches this season, the Mumbai-born opener has scored 363 runs with a poor strike rate of 127 by his standards.
Gambhir said:
"His approach has been rather timid to be fair, especially during the IPLs. Unlike the way he plays international cricket, he goes into a shell when he plays the IPL. I don't know why, in fact, if anything, he should have been more aggressive with the kind of team MI have."
He also pondered over the mental scheme of things for the 34-year skipper. He assumes Rohit has been concentrating more on the captaincy.
"It has to be the mental side of the thing as well, probably either he takes it a little lightly or he's just concentrating too much on the captaincy side of things as well because that could be one reason. Yes, he's got off to good starts, but then you don't expect Rohit Sharma to get 20 30s or 40s, you expect him to get hundreds. That is the kind of expectation we all have from him."
MI, who are all but out of contention for the playoffs, will play their last encounter in the group stages of the IPL 2021 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The match will be held today (October 8) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.