Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma has come under the scanner for his poor performance in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
In 10 matches so far, Rohit has amassed 184 runs at an abysmal average of 18.40 and a strike rate of 126.89 with only one half-century.
In the last two games, the MI captain couldn’t open his account while he failed to reach the double-digit mark in his last four outings.
Amid the lean patch, former India opener Virender Sehwag has said that Rohit Sharma is suffering from a "mental block" and there is no technical problem with his batting.
"Rohit Sharma is not battling with the bowlers but with himself. There is a mental block," Sehwag said on Star Sports' Cricket Live.
"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."
Mumbai Indians suffered a crushing six-wicket defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings in their last match.
Asked to bat first, MI posted a below-par 139/8 on the board. Nehal Wadhera waged a lone battle with the bat, scoring 64 off 51 balls.
In reply, CSK overhauled the target in 17.4 overs with key contributions from Devon Conway (44), Ruturaj Gaikwad (30) and Shivam Dube (26*).
Former Australia batter Aaron Finch was critical of MI’s new opening pair of Cameron Green and Ishan Kishan, who scored just 6 and 7 respectively against CSK.
"MI's opening combination looks confused they are taking a lot of risk. They were looking to hit all the balls. They should learn from Ruturaj Gaikwad, he remains so calm in the middle and hits the loose balls," Finch said.
While Rohit is struggling, Virat Kohli is having a great time with the bat in the ongoing IPL. The RCB star has amassed 419 runs from 10 games so far, though his strike rate has drawn him flak at times.
Lauding Kohli’s consistency over the years, former South African spinner Imran Tahir said, "Virat Kohli has always had the urge to score runs. You can score maximum runs in one season, two or three seasons, but if you are successful in doing this for 15 consecutive seasons, then it can be attributed to the result of your hard work and dedication. What Virat has done in the last 15 years is really commendable."
(With PTI Inputs)
