Mental strain of leading India may have taken a toll on Rohit Sharma: Graeme Smith

Rohit Sharma has led Mumbai to 5 Indian T20 League titles, but the 2022 season has not been the best for him. Mumbai has played four matches so far and has lost all of them. Sharma’s form with the bat hasn’t been the best either. He has only scored 80 runs in the season at an average of 20.

Former South African cricketer, Graeme Smith recently stated the pressure of India’s captaincy in all formats has taken a toll on Rohit Sharma. He said that the mental pressure may have been the reason behind Rohit Sharma’s lackluster performance this season.

Cricket.com quoted Smith saying, “Rohit is the energy at the top of the order. Gets them off to a start, sets up the game that allows everyone else to play. When he is scoring runs MI are going to win a lot of the time. This is the first tournament he is captaining MI since becoming India’s white-ball captain. Does that mental strain take a toll in the IPL? It’s something to consider.”

“He’s just such a key player. If you look at the line-up, Rohit, an outstanding player, hasn’t found form. You’ve got Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav injured for a couple of games. He has now come in and is looking good and then Pollard as the power finisher. You’ve got Brevis there but he’s a young man. That’s a very strong batting line-up,” he added.

Mumbai is currently playing their fifth game against Punjab at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. They won the toss and decided to bowl first in the match. It is a more or less a must-win game for them. Mumbai would be eager to add their first points in the tournament.

Speaking of the match, Smith also said that Kieron Pollard could bat a little higher in the line-up. It will be interesting to see how Mumbai’s batting unit performs.