"This is that season where you can score 500-600 runs" - Aakash Chopra on the opportunity for Mumbai Indians' Rohit Sharma in IPL 2024
Aakash Chopra reckons IPL 2024 will present former Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Rohit Sharma with a great opportunity to have a prolific season with the bat.
Rohit will not be MI's appointed skipper for the first time since 2013. The five-time champions will be led by Hardik Pandya, who was traded in from the Gujarat Titans ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra reflected on the opportunities for some of the Mumbai Indians players in IPL 2024. As for Rohit, he said (10:05):
"Rohit Sharma - he has had just one 500-run season. This is that season where you can score 500-600 runs and destroy everyone. Try to play once without the pressures of captaincy."
The cricketer-turned-commentator feels the absence of captaincy pressure might help the Mumbai Indians opener's cause.
"The captaincy pressure from a long time might just be bogging him down. It happens at times that you have so much responsibility, you don't enjoy yourself and your game. This is your opportunity," Chopra observed.
Rohit has amassed 6211 runs at a strike rate of 130.05 in 243 IPL games. His 538-run tally in IPL 2013 is the only time he has reached the 500-run mark in a single edition of the prestigious league.
"He has fallen out slightly from the Indian scheme of things" - Aakash Chopra on the chance for Mumbai Indians' Ishan Kishan
![Ishan Kishan will likely open for the Mumbai Indians alongside Rohit Sharma. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/03/ceb32-17109965052235-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra noted that Ishan Kishan also has a massive opportunity in IPL 2024.
"It's a huge tournament for Ishan Kishan because he has fallen out slightly from the Indian scheme of things. He doesn't have a central contract at the moment. So this is what he has been waiting for. Score a lot of runs, that Dubai season, where he hit the most sixes," he explained (9:30).
"He will come back in the T20 World Cup scheme of things if he has a season like that. Although he might still not be selected because of the number he is going to bat at, Ishan Kishan needs to come back into your consciousness. So a fantastic season is absolutely imperative for him," the former India opener added.
Chopra named Tilak Varma and Akash Madhwal as two other Mumbai Indians players with great opportunities in IPL 2024. He pointed out that while the left-handed batter will want to address his recent slide, the right-arm seamer will hope to replicate his last season's performances for the franchise.