The Mumbai Indians (MI) were the pre-tournament favorites for many experts. And they began in an emphatic fashion by registering their first opening-match victory in the IPL since 2012.
However, the five-time champions have been in a slump since then. The MI batsmen have failed to fire in unison while their bowling attack’s numbers have been the worst in the tournament, exacerbated by Jasprit Bumrah going wicketless in all games.
As Mumbai prepare to host the Punjab Kings (PBKS) today at the Wankhede Stadium, they have been left worrying by Rohit Sharma’s fitness.
The senior MI opener and former captain retired hurt during their game against RCB a few days ago. While chasing 241 against RCB, Rohit got off to a scratchy start, scoring 19 runs off 13 balls, before walking off the field.
Before that, he had received treatment for his leg, having perhaps injured his hamstring, for a long time in the middle and eventually decided to retire hurt. Rohit didn’t come out to bat again in MI’s spiraling innings as Hardik Pandya’s side suffered a third consecutive defeat.
This has put Rohit’s participation in tonight’s game on thin ice.
MI vs PBKS: Will Rohit Sharma play today?
Rohit Sharma suffered a hamstring injury against RCB and is likely to miss today’s game against Punjab. Given it’s only the initial phase of the tournament, the MI management might decide to rest Rohit and not rush him back on the field.
One school of theory suggests if Rohit is fit to only bat, he can be used as an Impact Player and not field, as Virat Kohli did in RCB’s match against LSG yesterday as he was dealing with an ankle issue. However, for that, Rohit needs to be declared fit to at least bat, and if the hamstring issue hinders his movement during batting, he could be rested.
On Wednesday, Rohit did some running and batting sessions but didn’t look comfortable. He is very likely to be rested tonight against Punjab Kings.
MI vs PBKS: Who will replace Rohit?
This is a tricky question MI will face today. If Rohit misses out, MI can take any of the multiple approaches they have available.
First, play Quiton de Kock as an opener to partner Ryan Rickelton, but that would mean dropping one of the other three overseas players. In that case, the axe could fall on Trent Boult, with Ashwani Kumar getting in the side. Deepak Chahar is already expected to replace Mayank Markande. So MI wouldn’t mind excluding Boult for this fixture.
The other alternative for MI is to hand a debut to Vidarbha opener Danish Malewar and not change the rest of the lineup.
A third left-field option would be to promote Naman Dhir to open and play Robin Minz in Dhir’s spot in the middle order.
Also, according to Cricbuzz, Will Jacks arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday. Since Jacks spent a considerable part of his career opening the batting in white-ball cricket, he could replace Rohit at the top, while Mitchell Santner or Trent Boult drops out. In that scenario, Ashwani again is likely to slot in for Boult.
MI vs PBKS: MI Predicted XII if Rohit Sharma doesn’t play
Ryan Rickleton, Danish Malewar/Quinton de Kock/Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Sherfane Rutherford, Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar, Ashwani Kumar/Trent Boult
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