Mumbai Indian captain Rohit Sharma is going through a bad phase in IPL 2022. Neither his bat is talking loudly, nor is there any special shine in his captaincy that was seen during the previous editions of the tournament.
After eight losses in as many matches, speculations are rife in certain sections of the media that Rohit Sharma might be included in the long list of captains who were replaced by their teams in the mid-way of an IPL season. The changing of captain could turn the fortunes for the five-time champion team in the IPL 2022, who are all but out of contention for the playoffs.
The likes of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah (who hasn’t taken many wickets), wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan (off-color), or middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav could replace Sharma as a captain of Mumbai.
Bumrah who served as a vice-captain for the Indian team in the South Africa ODI series and in Tests against Sri Lanka, has been a consistent wicket-taker for Mumbai Indians. In the 2020 edition, Bumrah scalped 27 wickets in 15 matches at an economy of 6.73, which helped MI to win their fifth title. But in IPL 2022, Bumrah has picked just five wickets in eight matches at an economy rate of 7.54. Moreover, Bumrah hasn’t got the required support from other bowlers to take Mumbai to victory.
The in-form batter Suryakumar Yadav could be the other one who can replace Rohit Sharma as a Mumbai Indians captain. In his six innings, Yadav has scored 239 runs at an average of 47.80, with a strike rate of 151.26. With a terrific performance, he is expected to be a strong captaincy contender for Mumbai Indians.
The most expensive pick in the IPL 2022 mega auction with INR 15.5 crores, Ishan Kishan has not been at his best form but he is a captaincy prospect for the Mumbai Indians due to his prolific batting and wicket-keeping abilities apart from being India’s captain in 2016 Men’s U19 World Cup in Bangladesh.
Although Mumbai Indians’ coach Mahela Jayawardene said that there is no problem with Rohit’s batting, when the leader of the team is not able to perform well, it can have a bad effect on the morale of the entire unit. Jayawardene came in support of the beleaguered Rohit Sharma, saying he is in a good frame of mind.
“I don’t see any problem with Rohit’s batting. Yes, overall batting has been a concern for us, especially on good wickets where we have batted under par. This is a senior group that understands the conditions and performed in the past. We need to keep pushing and if we need to make those changes we will do that I need to review this and have a chat with the rest of the coaches as well and make some plans,” said Jayawardene when asked about potential changes in the batting mix after a 36-run thrashing at the hands of Lucknow Super Giants at Wankhede Stadium.
However, the ‘review’ in captaincy for Mumbai, coming after eight straight losses, might not be enough to revive the fortunes of the five-time champions, who are now staring at an early exit from the tournament after failing to open their account on the points table.
