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Rohit Sharma will enter the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 with the captaincy role off his chest as he transitions from being skipper to player for the Mumbai Indians (MI). Rohit Sharma was relieved from captaincy responsibility after Hardik Pandya's return to Mumbai Indians as skipper, following Hitman's successful tenure that brought five IPL titles to Mumbai. While fans expressed concerns about Rohit being 'disrespected’, former Australian captain Aaron Finch offers a different perspective to it.
Finch believes Rohit's biggest challenge will be adapting to his new role – simply focusing on opening the batting. Freed from the captaincy burden, Finch expects Rohit to express himself more freely with the bat. This could potentially unleash a new level of aggression and dominance in his batting, benefiting both Rohit and the Mumbai Indians.
Aaron Finch on Rohit Sharma's biggest challenge in IPL 2024
“I think for Rohit, the challenge would be just walking out and opening the batting as he’s done so many times for India and Mumbai over the years. This might be a wipe off for his shoulders,” Finch said during Star Sports’ Show Game Plan.
“When you are captaining a team constantly, everywhere you go you are captain of the team. You can get engrossed a lot in that, so now having the freedom to walk out and bat will be beneficial for him personally and Mumbai Indians,” he added.
Rohit's batting struggles in recent IPL seasons
Despite his captaincy success with MI, Rohit hasn't been at his best with the bat in recent IPL seasons. With the pressure of leadership lifted, Aaron Finch believes Rohit could rediscover his "beast mode" as an opener, potentially returning to his destructive form.
This change also paves the way for Rohit to seamlessly transition back into his leadership role with the Indian National Cricket Team for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Finch also weighed in on other IPL developments. He sees the acquisition of Mitchell Starc by Kolkata Knight Riders for a record-breaking sum as a game-changer. Starc's versatility and impact across all stages of the match should significantly bolster the KKR bowling attack. However, Finch expressed concern about KKR captain Shreyas Iyer's ongoing back issues, which could potentially hamper his performance in the upcoming season.
“I think KKR will improve on their last year (performance), they weren’t at their best last year. But Shreyas (Iyer’s) injury cloud would be interesting to see how much of an impact he has throughout the tournament,” said Finch, who featured for as many as eight IPL teams, including the Kolkata Knight Riders. When you add Mitchell Starc to any T20 team you are going to be better, his ability with the new ball to swing it upfront will provide very valuable wickets… and in the power play, which is so important for the game. And, his death bowling is obviously exceptional as well,” Finch concluded.
Notably, while MI will open their IPL 2024's campaign against Gujarat Titans on March 24 while KKR will play their first match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Mumbai Indians' schedule for IPL 2024's first leg:
MI vs Gujarat Titans vs - March 24 - Ahmedabad - 7:30 PM IST
MI vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - March 27 - Hyderabad - 7:30 PM IST
MI vs Rajasthan Royals - April 1 - Mumbai - 7:30 PM IST
MI vs Delhi Capitals - April 7 - Mumbai - 3:30 PM IST
Kolkata Knight Riders' schedule for IPL 2024's first leg:
KKR vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - March 23 - Kolkata - 7:30 PM IST
KKR vs Royal Challengers Bangalore - March 29 - Bengaluru - 7:30 PM IST
KKR vs Delhi Capitals - April 3 - Visakhapatnam - 7:30 PM IST
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