'Some confusion is happening': Virender Sehwag drops 'mental block' comment amid Rohit Sharma's alarming drop in form

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has been unable to turn around his middling form in the IPL that has plagued him for the last three seasons. Rohit has currently scored just 184 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 126.90 and average of 18.40 and has been unable to get a double digit score beside his name in his last four innings.

In fact, the five-time IPL winning MI skipper has been dismissed for ducks in his last two innings. Former India opener Virender Sehwag has said that Rohit's problem seems to be more of a mental issue than one based on technique. "Rohit Sharma is not battling with the bowlers but with himself. There is a mental block. There's no problem with his batting technique. Some confusion is going on in his mind. But the day he gets going, we will make up for all the previous matches," he said on ESPNCricinfo.

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Rohit's middling returns in the strike rate department have been a bit of a feature for MI for a number of years now. Since the 2016 season, Rohit's strike rate for the season has finished above 129 just once in 2018. Last season Rohit scored just 268 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 120.18 and average of just 19.14. He went an entire season without scoring a half century for the first time in his IPL career.

Rohit and Virat Kohli have been two of the most prolific batters in Indian cricket in the last decade and they both will be up against each other on Tuesday's match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Both iconic batters, however, are going through contrasting journeys in the ongoing competition. Rohit has been struggling for runs this season but Virat is in brilliant form and scoring runs prolifically.

MI all-rounder Cameron Green who opened the batting for MI in their last match ahead of Rohit, had said that the team is not concerned with their captain's form. “Absolutely not,” Green told reporters when asked if there have been any discussions on Rohit’s form in the MI camp. “A legend that Rohit is, especially with Mumbai and everything that he has done in his career, we actually back him. He could come back into the form any time. He has batted beautifully in a few games, showing really good tempo at the top, so we are absolutely backing him.”