Ravi Shastri's had enough of '15-20s' from Rohit Sharma, sets herculean task for MI batter; Ian Bishop demands 'more'
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri set a herculean task for Rohit Sharma, following his flop show against RCB in IPL 2025.
Rohit Sharma's poor run in IPL 2025 is showing no signs of dying anytime soon. The Mumbai Indians' opening batter had an underwhelming outing with the bat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Wankhede Stadium. He departed back to the hut after scoring 17 runs off nine balls. Following his poor returns in the 18th edition of the premier T20 tournament, former India head coach Ravi Shastri set a herculean task for the former Mumbai Indians captain.
Against RCB, Rohit Sharma showed intent from the start as he hit a six in the first over bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. In the next over, bowled by Yash Dayal, Rohit hit back-to-back fours. However, the left-arm pacer had the last laugh as he rattled the stumps of the Indian Test and ODI captain.
Following Rohit's dismissal, Ravi Shastri and former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop discussed the dwindling returns from the bat of the Mumbai Indians' legend, who has led the franchise to five IPL title wins.
“They need more from Rohit Sharma, not just little starts of 12-15 runs at the start,” said Ian Bishop on commentary during the Mumbai Indians vs RCB fixture.
On the other hand, Ravi Shastri said, “Ideally, you want consistency. Teams that go a long way usually have the top-order firing. You need a 400-run season from Rohit Sharma. 15s and 20s converted into 40s and 60s.”
Rohit Sharma has played four matches in the ongoing 18th edition of the IPL so far, scoring 38 runs in total. He has registered scores of 0, 8, 13 and 17. In the last five IPL seasons, Rohit has passed the 400-run mark just once, and this performance came last year.
Mahela Jayawardene backs Rohit Sharma
On the eve of the fixture against RCB, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene had backed Rohit Sharma to come good as he is a quality player.
“If you're telling me every two innings to look at someone's performance, it's a bit unfair. My memory of his last innings was the Champions Trophy-winning knock. So we have to give and back the experienced guys, and them coming to the party," Jayawardene had said at the pre-match press conference.
"We've always, as Mumbai, backed the core group to deliver for us, so we're going to do that. It was unfortunate that he got hit in the nets, and hopefully, he'll be 100%, and that's how we will continue to back the guys to get the results for us," he added.
