"There's a method to even the madness in T20s" - Ravi Shastri on Rohit Sharma's poor form in IPL 2023
Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri believes Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma needs to give himself a bit of time at the crease before going berserk in the remaining games of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
Rohit has been struggling in the tournament with the bat, with two ducks in his last two outings. Shastri felt that the Mumbai captain could perhaps take a leaf out of his own book from the 50-over format, where the star opener continues to score consistently.
According to Shastri, if Rohit becomes more 'selective' in the bowlers that he wants to target and gets set, he could explode towards the backend of the innings as well.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, here's what Ravi Shastri had to say about Rohit Sharma's form in T20s:
"Rohit is a master of the 50-over game and you can rank him with the greats. But there's a method to even the madness in T20s. He gives himself time in 50-over game and then goes beserk. Maybe he can try that because he is a power hitter and he can hit fours and sixes at will. It's just about saying to yourself, 'I will go after the bowling in the powerplay and be selective in my stroke making.'"
Ravi Shastri on Rohit Sharma's captaincy
The past couple of seasons haven't been ideal for Mumbai Indians and have tested Rohit Sharma's captaincy abilities with a relatively new squad. Cricket experts like Simon Doull made bold statements that while his captaincy has been good, it was more due to the excellent team that MI had.
While Ravi Shastri agreed with what Doull said, he also felt that Rohit's poor form is something that has affected his captaincy. He stated:
"(On Simon Doull saying Rohit got a great team to captain) That's a fair point. When you score runs and are in a purple patch, then the captaincy becomes a lot easier. The resources he had 2-3 years ago are also not the same. The captaincy has got harder."
Rohit Sharma and Co. play a crucial game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday, May 9, and will desperately want their skipper to step up with the bat.