The Mumbai Indians (MI) are back in action on Saturday when they face the Rajasthan Royals in the first game of a double-header of IPL 2022. The MI lost their first game of the season by four wickets to the Delhi Capitals.
Mumbai will be relying on captain Rohit Sharma to come good in the Royals match, after he showed aggressive intent when he opened the innings.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel, who has represented MI under Rohit's captaincy, saw a change in the MI skipper's approach to batting when he scored 41 off 32 deliveries.
Rohit has been aggressive from the start of the innings, according to Patel, who added that the adjustment came following India's T20 World Cup 2021 losses to Pakistan and New Zealand last year.
“It's not just here. Yes, we got to see that in the previous game against Delhi Capitals, but we saw that even when he was playing for India recently. Ever since we lost that game against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup (last year), his approach has changed. Throughout this time, he has been trying to do the same,” Parthiv said on Cricbuzz.
“I believe he should continue to bat in a similar way as well. Because we know what sort of a player he is. He can accelerate really well but if he starts with an aggressive intent as well, the bowlers are taken aback. If there's the slightest margin of error, you know Rohit won't stop.”
Bowlers will have "some fear" if hitters like Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan adopt an aggressive style from the start, according to the former Indian wicketkeeper-batter.
“These batters like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan... if they come to the crease with an attacking mindset, the bowlers will have always have some fear in the mind. So it is the right approach for Rohit Sharma and hopefully, he scores big runs,” said Parthiv.
