Opinion: Opinion | Can Rohit Sharma Find His 'Hitman' Avatar This IPL Season?

March 23, Chennai: A regulation 139 kmph delivery on middle stump with no swing is flicked for a simple catch at midwicket. The batter walks back for a four-ball duck.

March 29, Ahmedabad: A back-of-a-length delivery outside off stump that jagged back in sharply dislodges the middle and off bail and cuts the batter in half. He is sent back for a four-ball eight.

March 31, Mumbai: A short-pitched delivery outside off finds a bottom edge as the batter tries to swat it over the infield. A simple catch at mid-off sees him walk back for a 12-ball 13.

April 7, Mumbai: A full, swinging delivery into middle and leg stump uproots the leg stump. The batter, who looked good after hitting two fours and a six, departs for a 9-ball 17.

Four innings. A total of 38 runs. A strike rate of 131, an average of 9.5, and a highest score of 17.

It's hard to associate these numbers with a batter who has amassed nearly 12,000 T20 runs (11,868 before the MI vs DC match on 13 April), 78 half-centuries, and was the second-highest run-getter in the 2024 T20 World Cup-where he averaged close to 37. He was also the Player of the Match in the ICC Champions Trophy final just last month, thanks to a composed 76 off 83 balls against New Zealand. But Rohit Sharma's IPL struggles are not a new phenomenon. In recent seasons, his form has been patchy. On his day, he remains unstoppable. The trouble is, those days are becoming increasingly rare. Since 2022, he has registered only three half-centuries and a single century in the IPL.

What's Going Wrong?

What's different this time is the rising concern among the Mumbai Indians' faithful. Here is a cricketer who is an institution unto himself. A former captain who led MI to five IPL titles. A pillar of the batting line-up. Third on the all-time IPL run-scorers list (6,666 runs in 256 innings before the MI vs DC clash). Yet, now, he's struggling to find the silken touch that once defined his batting - unable to give his team the blazing starts they so desperately need from an opener of his calibre.

On April 7, when Yash Dayal broke through Rohit's defence with a lovely in-swinger, disturbing his stumps, it was yet another powerplay dismissal. In run chases, he's being used as the impact sub, but so far, the "impact" has been elusive. And still, if Rohit is available, can any coach afford to leave him out? Rohit has to play, doesn't he?

India's Test and ODI captain is a naturally gifted batter. His hallmark has always been that extra fraction of a second he seems to have to judge line and length. His reaction time was once among the quickest in the game. That, combined with his stillness at the crease, often allowed him to play eye-catching shots with minimal movement. Footwork, the bedrock of classical batting, isn't central to his game - he relies instead on timing and instinct. We saw glimpses of that classic Rohit during the Champions Trophy final. So, what's going wrong in the IPL? Why is the same Rohit Sharma, who shone in the 2024 T20 World Cup, unable to replicate that form here?

Cricket Is Changing, Always

Perhaps the answer lies in the ever-evolving nature of T20 cricket. The game has changed significantly - both for batters and bowlers. Adaptation is no longer occasional; it's constant. Gone are the days when teams focused their strategy only on opposition, pitch, and weather. Now, multiple plans are crafted for hypothetical match situations. Real-time tactical shifts have become the norm. Coaches roam the boundary line, delivering advice mid-game. Drinks carriers double as messengers.

Batters, meanwhile, are expected to attack from ball one. There are still a few who pace their innings smartly - Shreyas Iyer's composed knock against LSG in Lucknow, for instance - but generally, boundary-hitting is the mantra. The margin for error is razor-thin. Just ask Tilak Varma, who was retired by coach Mahela Jayawardene in the same LSG match for not scoring quickly enough in a tough chase. As KL Rahul aptly put it recently, "Cricket's changed, and T20 cricket, especially, is only about hitting boundaries. The team that hits more boundaries and sixes ends up winning the game."

Is Pressure Getting To Him?

Match practice, therefore, is vital. And that's where things get tricky for Rohit. Since retiring from T20 internationals after India's World Cup triumph, the IPL is the only T20 cricket he plays. He has reshaped his game in recent years to provide explosive starts, often at the cost of consistency. He's done it selflessly. But is the constant pressure to score at a rapid rate getting to him?

It's a strange paradox. Rohit has always been an aggressive batter, albeit in a relaxed, languid manner. He has the second-most sixes in ODI cricket history, behind only Shahid Afridi (344 to Afridi's 351). He's transformed himself into a muscular power-hitter who puts team needs above personal milestones. The approach is simple: go hard in the powerplay.

And while that has worked in ODIs - as it did in the Champions Trophy final, where he scored 49 runs in the first 10 overs - it seems to be backfiring in the IPL. ESPNcricinfo data reveals that Rohit has been dismissed 22 times in the powerplay since the beginning of 2023 - the most for any batter. This only worsens MI's already fragile top-order performance. Before their 12-run loss to RCB, Rohit's average in the powerplay since 2023 was 24.5 - the second-lowest among batters with 25 or more innings in that span.

Waiting For 'Hitman'

There's no doubt that his focus on maintaining a high strike rate is proving to be his undoing. While Mahela Jayawardene has downplayed Rohit's recent struggles, he acknowledged the issue, saying, 
"...but yeah, it's something that I'm sure Rohit will work hard on."

Indeed, no one will work harder than Rohit himself. A true team man, he has openly spoken about his approach: "The result is obviously not going to be consistent in what I'm trying to achieve, but as long as it serves the purpose of the team, serves the purpose of what we're trying to do, I'm happy with that." He's not afraid of bold decisions either, as evidenced when he dropped himself for the Sydney Test earlier this year. But with nine league matches still to play this IPL season, MI and their fans will be hoping that the real 'Hitman' shows up soon - and fires when it matters most.

(The author is a former sports editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is currently a columnist, features writer and stage actor)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

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