Rohit Sharma – How an all-time limited-overs great has underachieved in IPL
2 months ago | 20 Views
Rohit Sharma is one of the greatest batters in white-ball cricket. He is the second-highest run-getter in T20I cricket with an average of 32 and strike rate of 140. Only Glenn Maxwell has registered as many hundreds as Rohit (5) in the format. Rohit is also amongst the finest ODI batters ever. He has scored in excess of 10000 runs at an average of 49 and strike rate of 92. His 31 hundreds are the third-most only after Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. Rohit’s achievements in the 2019 World Cup in England and the 2023 edition in India are the stuff of legends!
However, for someone with such an outstanding record in limited-overs’ international cricket, it is strange that Rohit has not been able to achieve the same success as a batter in the IPL. Although he has led Mumbai Indians to a record five titles, his own performance with bat has been rather underwhelming, especially in the last few seasons.
Overall record
Rohit has an aggregate of 6526 runs in 248 innings at an average of 29.8 and strike rate of 131.2. He is not even in the top 10 in terms of batting average amongst the 32 Indian batters with a minimum of 2000 runs in the IPL. Even more surprising is his sluggish scoring rate which does not place him even in the top 15! Comparing Rohit with his other top-order peers from India, Kohli has an average of 38.4 and a strike rate of 131, Shikhar Dhawan – 35.3 and 127, KL Rahul – 46.2 and 135, Shubman Gill – 37.5 and 134.8 and Suresh Raina – 32.5 and 136.7. Rohit seems to have been left behind – both in terms of run-scoring and strike rate.
Only one season with a 500+ aggregate
Rohit was MI’s leading run-getter and played a pivotal role with the bat in their maiden title win in 2013. Interestingly, it remains the only season where Rohit aggregated more than 500. He scored 538 runs in 19 innings at a strike rate of 131.5 with four fifties. Just for perspective, Kohli and David Warner breached the 500-Club in as many as seven editions! Rahul and Dhawan achieved the feat five times each.
Rohit has also managed to register just two hundreds in his long 17-year journey in the IPL. Kohli tops the list with 8 and is followed by Jos Buttler (7) and Chris Gayle (6). For someone who has a world record three double-hundreds in ODI cricket and the joint-most number of tons in T20I cricket, it is strange that Rohit hasn’t been able to show that appetite for the big runs in the IPL!
400+ runs & SR greater than 140
There have only been two seasons when Rohit has scored 400-plus runs at a strike rate of in excess of 140. He had an aggregate of 404 runs at a strike rate of 148 for the Deccan Chargers in 2008. His more significant performance, though, came in 2015 when he scored 482 runs at a strike rate of 144.7 powering MI to their second title.
Below-par for majority of IPL career
Rohit has an aggregate of less than 400 in as many as nine seasons. His scoring rate has been below 130 in as many editions too! Worse, he has scored less than 400 at a strike rate of less than 130 in as many as seven seasons.
No outstanding season
Every top-grade Indian batter has had at least one outstanding season in the IPL. Kohli shattered all records smashing 973 runs at a strike rate of 152 in 2016. Rahul aggregated 659 runs at a rate of 158 in 2018 – the season in which Rishabh Pant showcased his genius and blasted 684 runs at a strike rate of 174! Dhawan was at his peak in 2020 when he hammered 618 runs at a strike rate of 145 while Shubman Gill was in scintillating form last season when he piled on 890 runs at a strike rate of 158.
Curiously, Rohit hasn’t had any such breakthrough season in the IPL where he has scored big runs at a high strike rate.
Downhill post 2017
Rohit has also witnessed a dramatic decline in his IPL numbers since 2017. From an average of 33.7 from his debut till the end of 2016, his average has come plummeting down to 25.5 thereafter. From registering a 50-plus score every 4.6 innings before, Rohit’s frequency has gone crashing down to 7.86 in the last eight seasons.
Rohit has aggregated 400-plus in an edition just once (in 2019) in this time-frame while scoring below 350 in five completed seasons. His scoring rate has also been on the decline and below 130 in as many as five seasons between 2017 and 2023 reaching a maximum of 133 in 2018.
These numbers are puzzling and in stark contrast with his stunning record for India during this period. The only real explanation could be the different roles played by Rohit for his country and franchise. While he has been the aggressor at the top of the order for India, Rohit has played anchor for Mumbai Indians, especially in the last seven seasons. He has left the acceleration to the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard. Moreover his lack of runs and sluggish scoring role were camouflaged by the trophies he won for his franchise as captain of Mumbai Indians.
However, Mumbai Indians have not won the IPL since 2020. Rohit does not even have the cushion of captaincy any more. There is rising scrutiny on his numbers with every under-par performance. Rohit has tried to break out of the shackles this season by showing intent in the powerplay – the same template with which he led India to the final of the 50-over World Cup last year – but while his strike rate is at an all-time personal high, his consistency and big-run scoring has been severely compromised this season.
Will history remember Rohit as an all-time great white-ball batter for India who massively underachieved with the bat in the IPL despite creating a legacy as captain and leader?
Or is there one final chapter yet to be added.
