IPL 2021: [Watch] Mumbai Indians welcome their captain Rohit Sharma
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has arrived at his IPL franchise, a day after India won the third ODI against England in Pune to clinch the series 2-1.
Rohit Sharma scored a run-a-ball 37 in India’s seven-run win over England on Sunday. During the innings, he and Shikhar Dhawan featured in a century stand for the 17th time in one-dayers.
Mumbai Indians took to their official Instagram account to post a video of Rohit Sharma arriving to join his team. The 11-second clip also featured the peppy theme song of Mumbai Indians - "Ala Re”. Along with the short video clip, Mumbai Indians posted the caption:
“Where is RO ➡ Here we GO! #OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPL2021 @rohitsharma45.”
Earlier in the day, Mumbai Indians posted a video of Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya checking into the Renaissance Hotel. The trio posed for the camera, with the Pandya brothers even flashing the victory sign.
Yadav, meanwhile, shared his thoughts on his India debut, saying:
“Really happy and very proud also to represent India. It has always been my dream to play for my country, obviously. And, it feels really great. I was really happy to be part of that amazing unit. And now that the role is over, I am back to my family. Really happy and excited. Looking forward to unbelievable times ahead.”
Yadav scored 57 and 32 in the two T20Is he batted in. He famously hit the first ball he faced in international cricket for a six off Jofra Archer.
Rohit Sharma had a below-par limited-overs campaign against England
While he hammered a momentum-changing 161 in the second Test in Chennai, Rohit Sharma did not enjoy a lot of success in the limited-overs games against England.
He was surprisingly rested for the first two T20Is. After falling cheaply in the third and fourth matches, he smashed 64 off 34 in the deciding T20I, which India won by 36 runs to take the series.
Rohit Sharma, though, failed to register a single half-century in the ensuing ODI series. His top score across the three matches was 37, which came in the final one-dayer, where he was bowled by Adil Rashid after failing to read a googly.
According to former India batsman VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma and captain Virat Kohli’s struggles against spinners is a cause for concern. He told Star Sports in this regard:
“Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be disappointed when they see their dismissals in the replay. This has almost become a pattern against the spinners. Rohit not being able to read the googly against Adil Rashid. And then Virat Kohli looked to play through the off-side against the turn, giving himself room and then missing it. It's definitely a cause of concern because Indian players are supposed to be excellent batsmen against spin bowling.”
In the IPL, Rohit Sharma has led Mumbai Indians to five wins. The two-time defending champions open their campaign for a three-peat against RCB on 9th April.