'When has Rohit Sharma done that?': Batting legend questions MI star's ability to score 600-plus runs in an IPL season

It hasn’t even been a month since Rohit Sharma struck a match-winning 76 in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy against New Zealand, playing a key role in India’s four-wicket victory at the Dubai International Stadium. His heroics in that blockbuster contest on 9 March, however, already feels like an eternity ago with the veteran Mumbai Indians opener and former captain flopping twice in as many outings in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

Rohit had been dismissed for a four-ball duck in MI’s opening game of the season, against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai last Sunday. Six days later at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, the ‘Hitman’ lasted exactly as many deliveries – this time getting cleaned up by Mohammed Siraj after collecting a couple of boundaries.

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MI, as a result, lost their first wicket with just 8 on the board after being set a daunting 197 to win by the Shubman Gill-led side, and wouldn’t recover from the early wobble as they crashed to a 36-run defeat – their second in as many outings this season.

Sehwag, Tiwary don’t mince words in criticising Rohit

Former India cricketers Virender Sehwag and Manoj Tiwary were among those questioning Rohit’s ability to make meaningful contributions in the shortest format nearly a year after retiring from Twenty20 Internationals and after getting retained by the franchise for Rs 16.30 crore.

Former India and Kolkata Knight Riders batter Manoj Tiwary went to the extent of stating that scoring 400 runs in a season simply isn’t enough for a batter of Rohit’s calibre, and he needs to score anywhere between 600 to 700 runs this season in order to silence his critics.

“Look, I’m telling you, I don’t want to be tough, but I must be. For some players, you have to be. Look, it’s high time Rohit Sharma got back among the runs. The ability of a player like Rohit Sharma is not 400. Last season, he scored 400, he hit a century, that’s fine. But where is the 800-900 season? Rohit is just not able to have these types of seasons. Why does Virat Kohli always score? You tell me. It’s equally good. It’s equally good, but there should be a season where Rohit scores 600-700,” Manoj Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.

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“He should take his Orange Cap with him. That’s how it should be. How will it be if you don’t get a good start? I expect a lot from him. That’s why he was retained. Because of last year’s drama and controversy, it felt like Rohit would leave because there were a lot of small audio clips. Despite that, he was retained. But since there were no runs in the last two matches, the atmosphere must have been mixed up,” he added.

Sehwag, a legendary opener himself and the only Indian to score a Test triple hundred more than once, questioned if Rohit had ever scored as many runs in a single edition of the world’s biggest T20 league, where he has been playing since the inaugural edition in 2008.

“What Manoj Tiwary said about Rohit Sharma, where is that season? Isn’t it too late for this type of season to come (laughs)? We are also his fans, but we are just asking where the season of 600-700 runs is. When has Rohit Sharma done that? It has been 18 years, when it has not happened in 18 years, how can you hope for this to happen now when he is at the last part of his career?” ‘Viru’ added.

Mumbai Indians play their first home game on Monday, against Kolkata Knight Riders, and Rohit will likely be banking on home support to finally announce himself with the bat this season.