Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith believes that the mental stress of captaining India in all formats may take a toll on Rohit Sharma in IPL 2022.
In IPL 2022, Sharma was not at his best with the bat as an opener, scoring just 80 runs in four matches at an average of 20. In terms of captaincy, Mumbai Indians have suffered four losses in as many matches and now need to beat Punjab Kings at the MCA Stadium on Wednesday to end the race without a win in the tournament.
IPL Full Coverage , Schedule , result , orange cape , purple cap
IPL 2022 is also the first season Sharma is captaining Mumbai after taking over as India’s captain across all formats.
“Rohit is the energy at the top of the order. Prepares them to start over, sets up the game that allows everyone else to play. MI is going to win a lot of times when he is scoring runs. This is the first tournament he has captained MI since becoming India’s white-ball captain. Does that mental stress take a toll in the IPL? It is something to consider,” Smith was quoted as saying by cricket.com.
Smith, currently commentating in the IPL, thinks that if Sharma gets the form, it makes Mumbai a very powerful batting line-up. “He is just such an important player. If you look at the line-up, an outstanding player Rohit has not found form. You have injured Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in a few matches. He is now in and looks good. And then Pollard as a power finisher. You have Brevis but he’s a young man. It’s a very strong batting line-up.”
In all four Mumbai defeats, the batting had some great individual performances but didn’t click as a unit. The same script has been prepared for the bowling attack, which has been far from convincing. Smith has called for the inclusion of West Indies all-rounder Fabian Allen, who bowls left-arm spin, in addition to England’s left-arm pacer Tymal Mills.
Read also | Here’s MS Dhoni’s Reaction After Mukesh Choudhary Drops 3 Cats Against RCB – Watch
“I got it for Tymal Mills to try and show Bumrah some support. I’ve also gone for Fabian Allen. My reason is that Punjab has a lot of right-handed batting and I like that he can swing the ball away from them and that will give Rohit Sharma a more useful option and lengthen the batting line-up a bit. ,
Smith said he would still remain in the batting order, along with the young Brevis and the experienced Pollard. ,
“I have picked Brevis at number 3 or 4, depending on where Suryakumar Yadav is going to bat, simply because it is his third game and deserves a little chance. I’m stuck with Pollard. He has shown glimpses of his power and form. Should they come a little higher in the order, that is another question,” he concluded.
Get all the latest updates cricket news, cricket pictures, cricket videos, IPL 2022 Live Updates And cricket score Here