Former India opener Aakash Chopra has predicted a stellar season for Mumbai Indians’ Rohit Sharma in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. With Hardik Pandya taking over the captaincy, Chopra believes Rohit will be relieved of the burden and unleash his full potential as a batsman.
Despite Mumbai Indians’ success under Rohit’s leadership, winning a record five titles, his batting performance has been underwhelming in recent years. From IPL 2017 to 2023, Rohit averaged a mere 24.76 with the bat. However, Chopra believes that the upcoming season will be different.
“You have released Rohit Sharma from captaincy. When you talk about top players like Rohit Sharma, you see a 600 plus season. But no season seemed like that for him. This could be that season. Because there is nothing to prove per say, but there is a lot to prove. Kaptaan nahi hain toh phir todenge aisa lag raha hai mujhe (Since he is not the captain, he is going to pile a lot of runs),” said Chopra on his YouTube channel.
Chopra’s prediction is based on the belief that Rohit will be more focused on his batting without the added responsibility of captaincy. He believes that Rohit has the potential to score over 600 runs in IPL 2024, a feat he has not achieved in any previous season.
IPL 2024 is set to begin on March 22 with a match between defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chepauk. Mumbai Indians will open their campaign against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. The BCCI has released the schedule only for the first 21 matches of IPL 2024, owing to the Lok Sabha Elections. The remaining schedule will be announced after the date for elections is out.
