Ravi Shastri: ‘Rohit Sharma’s challenges as a captain has doubled’

Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma has not had the best of IPL campaigns with the bat so far this season. In 10 matches, Rohit has scored just 184 runs with a strike-rate of 126.89.

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Reflecting on Rohit’s struggles with the bat, former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels that Rohit’s responsibilities have ‘doubled’ over the last few years.

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“As a captain, more important is that your performances come into play. If you start getting on a purple patch where you are scoring runs, the job as a captain becomes much easier. The body language on the field changes, that energy on the field is different. It’s totally different. As opposed to when you not getting runs, you can go flat – no matter who you are,” Shastri said on ESPNCricinfo.

Rohit has led MI to five title triumphs, the team’s last victory coming in 2020. Shastri said that the resources Rohit had as a captain two-three years back was different.

“Plus, the resources you had 2-3 years ago, aren’t quite the same, then comes the challenge, how do you get going? How do you motivate that bunch? How do you create a combination? How do you see who is the best in that lot to fit in and deliver at a certain stage of the game? So the challenges as a captain might have doubled for him. The work as a captain would have doubled as opposed to two years ago,” he added.

MI are currently placed sixth in the IPL standings with 10 points from as many games. They face tough competition from teams like Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings to reach the playoffs.

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