“Mayank Agarwal was dropped on many occasions with better numbers”

Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull believes Mumbai Indians (MI) opener Rohit Sharma is playing only on reputation after the side’s win over the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Wankhede Stadium on April 17. Rohit has been in dismal form throughout the season, with only 82 runs in six matches at an average of 13.66.

The 37-year-old finally looked like regaining his touch in the SRH encounter with three maximums in his first 15 deliveries. However, he struck a full toss straight to cover to fall for a 16-ball 26 – his highest score thus far this season.

Speaking about Rohit’s dwindling form on Cricbuzz, Doull said (1:22):

“If those numbers were Joe Smith, he wouldn’t be playing. Any other player, opening the batting in this competition, like Mayank Agarwal, was dropped on many occasions with better numbers than that over 35 games. So, if he wasn’t Rohit Sharma, he probably wouldn’t be playing. But they still know the ability he has and they hope that at some stage through this tournament, that clicks.”

Despite losing Rohit in the fourth over, MI coasted to a comfortable four-wicket win in the 19th over, chasing 163. The victory was a second straight for the five-time champions after they started the season with four losses in five outings.

“They need to keep winning” – Simon Doull

Simon Doull feels Rohit Sharma’s run of low scores should not be an issue as long as MI continue winning games in the 2025 IPL season. The veteran batter has struggled to score big in the last few IPL seasons despite dominating in white-ball cricket for Team India.

Rohit has scored over 400 runs in a season only once in the last five IPL editions and hasn’t breached 500 in a season since 2013.

“They need to keep winning though. If they are not winning and he is not performing, then it becomes a bit of an issue for the team. That’s one of the keys. He’s such a talented player. We know how good he is. We know what he has done in an Indian shirt. There are lot of players that have had better IPLs than Rohit Sharma. But from a captaincy point of view, he has been simply phenomenal. And he has held that team together for five titles,” said Doull (Via aforementioned source).

MI are still precariously placed seventh on the points table at the halfway stage of the competition. They will hope Rohit returns to form in the high-octane encounter against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Mumbai on Sunday, April 20.

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Venkatesh has been writing cricket news, listicle and feature articles for Sportskeeda for over a year. He loves cricket because of the diversity of the playing fields and its unparalleled nuances, which no other sport presents. He also enjoys the analytical and quantitative side of the sport, which originates from his MBA degree and 10 years of experience in the IT industry in companies like Infosys, Atos and TCS.

Venkatesh ensures proper research from reliable sources and social media trends to gather information, and adds his own dash of creativity to create insightful content.

He started watching cricket in the late 1990s, having been impressed with South Africa and New Zealand’s gentleman-like attitude. Domestically, he supports the Chennai Super Kings for their ability to bring the best out of their players owing to a friendly and conducive team environment.

He admires three cricketers the most – Brian Lara for his batting style, AB de Villiers for changing the paradigm of batting and MS Dhoni for his unique cerebral approach to field placings and batting. Along with cricket, Venkatesh also enjoys watching and playing tennis and basketball. In his free time, he finds pleasure in singing and watching movies and web series.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran