Home
Former India cricketer Atul Wassan reckoned that the Mumbai Indians' (MI) destructive opener has lost his hunger to perform as the five-time champions failed to secure a top-two berth in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 after losing their last clash against Punjab Kings at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
The former MI skipper Rohit Sharma has been regarded as one of the most complete batters especially in white ball cricket. He recently announced his retirement from Tests after failing to perform in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, which India lost 1-3 to Australia. Earlier, last year in June, the batting great announced his T20I retirement after winning the T20 World Cup 2024 in Barbados. In ODIs, however, Rohit continues to thrive, taking India to their third ICC Champions Trophy win, beating New Zealand in the final in March.
ALSO READ: IPL 2025: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Lucknow Super Giants IPL head-to-head
In the ongoing edition of the cash-rich league, Rohit has struggled to perform with the bat and mostly featured as an impact player for the Hardik Pandya-led side. Despite playing a few exciting knocks, Rohit has appeared far from his best, and this has been the case across the last two editions of the IPL. With MI having qualified for the IPL Playoffs, Rohit's form becomes all the more important if the five-time champions hope to land a sixth title.
"He seems to be a bit disinterested; the motivation, the fire in the belly, has satiated. He has won almost everything, from winning the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy to retiring from Test cricket. Hence, to motivate yourself to play at this level of cricket every day is a very tough task," Wassan said during the tenth episode of Bails and Banter on the OTTplay app.
"A player needs to have some sort of aim in the future; it could be the longevity and the legacy. No player wants to compromise on the reputation he/she has built and leave fans with bad memories, and this is something which should motivate them," he added.
After losing their last clash against PBKS, the five-time champions MI will now feature in the eliminator, which will take place on May 30 in New Chandigarh.
ADVERTISEMENT
