Pollock felt Rohit's involvement in India's T20 WC squad selection led to his poor form.
However, as the tournament moved to the business end, Rohit Sharma’s form deserted him and he has only managed 69 runs in the next 6 matches for MI. His strike rate has also taken a plunge as in the first half, he was scoring at 167 but in the last six, it has come down to 115.
Former South Africa and MI captain Shaun Pollock said people were talking about how not having the burden of captaincy has helped Rohit get his form back in the IPL but things have gone downhill in the last few games.
"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.
I presume for the last few weeks, there have 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 said on Cricbuzz.
His loss is a major concern for the Indian team, who will play their first T20 World Cup 2024 game on June 5 against Ireland in New York.
While expressing his concern, former India opener Aakash Chopra said that Rohit needs to find his form quickly for the sake of MI and Team India.
“Pat Cummins came and dismissed Rohit Sharma. There is a massive difference between Rohit Sharma’s first six matches and the last five matches. He is going in single digits in the last five matches and that is a real worry. Honestly, Rohit Sharma’s form is needed for both the Mumbai Indians and the Indians,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.