New Delhi: Rohit Sharma’s niggle from the Champions Trophy and Mumbai Indians need sharp fielders has forced the five-time Indian Premier League champions to use him as an ‘impact sub’.
Mumbai Indian take on Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday in a match that would be crucial in determining which teams qualify for the play-offs.
Speaking on the eve of the match, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene said Rohit picked up a niggle during India’s victory at the Champions Trophy.
“No, it wasn’t at the start. Obviously, Ro (Rohit) was on the field in some of the games,” Jayawardene said, when asked why was Rohit used as an ‘impact sub’.
“But if you look at the composition of the team, most of the guys are doing dual roles; most of them are bowling. At the same time, some of the venues need boundary runners, you need guys with speed and all that so that also comes into play.
“Ro was also nursing a niggle from the Champions Trophy so we wanted to make sure that we don’t push him too hard, and we have managed that while (his) batting is the most important thing,” he added.
But his limited fielding role hasn’t stopped Rohit from contributing both on and off the field, forming a formidable opening pair with Ryan Rickelton.
“If you’ve seen, he’s always been around in the dugout, or he goes in during timeouts, and there’s a lot of communication that’s been happening, so actively involved.
“For any team, the openers do play a very valuable part in establishing the innings and especially with the batting lineup that we have, the way we build when we get a good start, it always complements to that,” he said.
“It’s just that even though Ro, probably (in) the last few years, he hadn’t (had) those big scores but he was trying to give us that impetus as well — even though I was in the head coach, I was watching — he used to get those quick 20s or 30s but couldn’t convert.”
Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene said Rohit Sharma picked up a niggle during India’s victorious campaign at the Champions Trophy. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
