Mumbai Indians receive Rohit Sharma SOS ahead of IPL 2025 Playoffs: 'He looks disinterested; needs to have some aim'
Rohit Sharma is regarded as one of the most complete batters, especially in the limited-overs format. He recently announced his retirement from Test cricket after enduring a poor outing as a batter and captain in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, which India lost 1-3 to Australia. In June last year, Rohit retired from T20 internationals after leading Team India to a second T20 World Cup win. In ODIs, however, Rohit continues to thrive, taking India to their third ICC Champions Trophy win, beating New Zealand in the final in March.
In the ongoing IPL 2025 season, though, Rohit has struggled, mostly playing as an impact player for the Mumbai Indians. Despite playing a few exciting knocks, Rohit has appeared far from his best, and this has been the case across the last two editions of the IPL. With MI having qualified for the IPL Playoffs, Rohit's form becomes all the more important if the five-time champions hope to land a sixth title, but former India pacer Atul Wassan feels the ex-MI captain has lost his hunger.
"He seems to be a bit disinterested; the motivation, the fire in the belly, has satiated. He has won almost everything, from winning the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy to retiring from Test cricket. Hence, to motivate yourself to play at this level of cricket every day is a very tough task," Wassan said during the tenth episode of Bails and Banter on the OTTplay app.
Rohit has been off-colour in the IPL for quite some time now. Last year, Rohit hit a tally of 417 runs, 100 of which came during a knock against the Kolkata Knight Riders. This year, Rohit has struck three half-centuries, but with 329 runs from 13 matches, one ought to believe that the MI veteran hasn't been at his free-flowing self. At 38, Rohit has more cricket behind than ahead of him, but Wassan insists the batter must not leave the stage having undone all the hard work of the last decade and a half.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma takes a lap around Wankhede, has a telling exchange with Nita Ambani; then sets off crowd with Kuldeep, KP
"A player needs to have some sort of aim in the future; it could be the longevity and the legacy. No player wants to compromise on the reputation he/she has built and leave fans with bad memories, and this is something which should motivate them," he added.
In December 2023, MI opted to replace Rohit as captain with Hardik Pandya, a decision that caused the franchise plenty of backlash. But given all that Hardik did for India –playing a key role in winning the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy – the crowd has accepted him with open arms. Then again, Rohit's importance as a batter hasn't diminished, and Wassan is confident of The Hitman getting a big one in the next match or two.
As Mumbai secured their spot in the IPL playoffs, Rohit must be keen to deliver his finest performance, steering the team toward a sixth title triumph. The playoffs kick off on May 29 with Qualifier 1 at the Maharaja Yadavinder Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh, setting the stage for an intense battle for glory. MI, however, will play the Eliminator on May 30.
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