Rohit Sharma slumped to yet another low score in the Indian Premier League as the Mumbai Indians talisman was dismissed for just 18 against the Delhi Capitals on Sunday. The opener, who has made a torrid start to the season, got out leg before the wicket against DC’s leg spinner Vipraj Nigam.
Sharma was dismissed playing the sweep shot, as he missed a wrong one by the leg spinner while trying to slog on the leg side.
The ball crashed into Sharma’s right thigh and while he survived the on-field umpire’s decision, DC skipper Axar Patel was successful in his DRS appeal.
Achilles heel?
Known for his prowess with the Pull shot against fast bowling, it seems Rohit Sharma’s troubles with the bat lie with another cricketing stroke, especially against spinners.
According to CricViz, the MI batter’s last 30 conventional Sweep shots against spinners has yielded him only 52 runs at an average of 7.4. This sample size has also got him out 7 times.
CricViz posted this stat on their Twitter/X account and many users have noticed this pattern. One user wrote, “Rohit Sharma has been out many times while playing sweep shot against spin. He stays right in front of the wicket due to which he is unable to balance the ball coming on the leg wicket and gets out.”
Fitness related?
A few other users pointed out the apparent reason for his failure playing the sweep shot against spin bowlers.
Many fans feel it could be related to his supposed less than ideal physique, with one user saying: “Anyone can tell with this weight Rohit sharma is struggling to play sweep getting beaten by pace everytime” while another user was more harsh with their words, writing, “Rohit sharma with this physic you can’t sweep tha ball…..for God sake lose some weight.”
While, we can’t say for sure whether his failure with the sweep shot is related to a lack of technique or fitness, it sure has become a noticeable pattern of dismissal.
Rohit Sharma’s season has been poor with scores of 0, 8, 13, 17, 18. The scrutiny on MI’s most successful captain is only going to get worse.
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