MI vs KKR: Rohit Sharma will be back amongst runs soon, IPL performance not relevant to Test spot, feels childhood coach

Rohit Sharma has captained the Indian team to ICC tournament glory across the T20 and ODI formats over the last nine months but the scrutiny on the Indian skipper is getting bigger. Fondly known as ‘Hitman’, Sharma has had a very modest 12 months with the bat for the Men in Blue by his own high standard.

From the beginning of the T20 World 2024 in the USA and Caribbean, which India won, up until the final of the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy in the UAE & Pakistan, which India also won, the right hander scored 880 runs at an average of 26.66 across 34 innings (all formats) with seven half centuries and a sole century.

His numbers in Test cricket are even more concerning in the same period (from March 31, 2024 until the 2025 Border -Gavaskar Trophy) as Rohit scored 164 runs in 15 innings at a measly average of 10.93. His poor batting form came to a head in the BGT the Indian captain dropped himself from the final Test in Sydney.

After a poor start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, with scores of 0 (vs Chennai Super Kings) and 8 (vs Gujarat Titans) in the two matches so far – Rohit Sharma finds himself under scrutiny ahead of India’s tour of England in June-August later this year.

However, his childhood coach Dinesh Lad felt his IPL stats have no bearing over his place in the Test team, which he leads. “Rohit is a different player,” Dinesh Lad told Revsportz.

“He is a technically sound player with a bundle of experience. As his childhood coach, I feel he should go to England. He did really well in the last England tour, scoring a century there. In my opinion, he should go, bat well and lead the team well,” added Dinesh Lad.

‘Game of luck’

According to Dinesh Lad, IPL is a game of luck as one tries to smash every ball in today’s time. “In the IPL, you go to smash every ball in today’s time. You see so many players go and whack the ball around, but then you suddenly see them not scoring big runs in the next games. I feel the IPL is a game of luck, especially for the batters. You don’t defend there. If you connect, you go big, and that is not possible every day,” he added in the same interview.

Dinesh Lad felt that Rohit Sharma will turn the corner soon even in the IPL as the season has just begun. Mumbai Indians host defending champions Klkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on March 31 (Monday), and the game could be the perfect platform for “Hitman” to flex his muscles in front of his home crowd.

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