What Is Wrong With Rohit Sharma? Mumbai Indians coach Jayawardene offers this reason

Mumbai, May 5: Nothing much has gone right for Rohit Sharma in the IPL 2022 as Mumbai Indians are virtually out of playoffs contention and his own batting form has been modest to say the least as he struggled to build on the starts.

From 9 matches, Rohit has made 155 runs for MI in the IPL 2022 at an average of 17.22 with a highest of 41. His strike rate too has been a below-par 123 in the IPL 15.

His poor run at the top has not helped MI’s cause in the IPL 2022 and they are almost certain to miss the knockout stage for the second straight year.

MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene was aware of the lean patch that Rohit has been going through in IPL 2022. While the former Sri Lankan captained termed it disappointing, Jayawardene also presented the larger picture of the collective failure.

“Ro (Rohit Sharma) has been brilliant in batting for long periods, getting those big scores consistently and the rest of the guys have batted around him. He knows he had starts and he is disappointed that he has been unable to convert them into big ones.

“For a team to work it is not about just one individual, it is about a team executing a game plan. The way we have structured our lineup this season, that is something we have lacked and at the top," said Jayawardene in a virtual pre-match press conference on Thursday (May 4).

Jaywardene also stressed on the need to have a collective effort and the need to finish off the games to have better standing in the league like the Indian Premier League.

"At the same time, we have not had those finishers at the backend also. It is about getting most of the guys playing good cricket and having that consistency going through. That is something we have lacked.

“You take Gujarat Titans for example this season, you have seen them winning 3-4 games at least from positions from where they were completely outplayed by individual brilliance or finishing games off by either Miller, Tewatia or even Rashid. That is what the season requires and we have not had that spark.

“So, this has been one of those seasons where we have not been able to win those close matches and we have not been able to ruthlessly finish games off. You need your main batters to be consistent and getting those runs. But it is just not one individual, it is about a collective team performance," said Jayawardene.