Rohit Sharma’s recent struggles with the bat have raised concerns ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup. The Mumbai Indians captain has managed just 33 runs in his last five IPL matches, including scores of 4, 11, 4, 8, and 6.
Former South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock believes Rohit’s poor form is due to a combination of factors, including the pressure of captaining the Indian team and the upcoming World Cup selection process.
“He’ll be disappointed with that. He got off to a fiery start. Some people were saying, ‘Look he’s no longer captain so he’s getting back to his old form’. He’s still got two more games so hopefully he fires before he heads off to the World Cup,” Pollock said on Cricbuzz.
“It’s the manner in which he’s getting out that will be more concerning for him. He’s one of those when he’s playing straight down the ground, there’s not much that can go wrong, but he has tried to introduce a bit of a fiddly element to the game. To get the odd scoop here but he’s popping the odd one up in the air. If he gets a good nut, he won’t be too concerned, but to be honest, he’s kind of got out to soft dismissals, to be honest.”
Pollock also suggested that the stress of captaining the Indian team and the upcoming World Cup selection process may have played a role in Rohit’s poor form.
“I presume for the last few weeks, there has been a few conversations about trying to pick the Indian team. With that stress of finding the right balance, which player should be picked, all of a sudden, you are back in captaincy mode… The naming of the side, going to the press conference, explaining why you have picked a certain may have added to the stress,” Pollock added.
Rohit Sharma will be hoping to regain his form in the remaining two IPL matches before the World Cup. The Indian team will be relying heavily on their captain to lead them to success in the tournament.
