Rohit Sharma provided a scary sign for fans when he limped off during Mumbai Indians’ loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, forced to retire hurt as he tweaked his hamstring. The experienced Indian opener has subsequently been forced to miss MI’s latest net session, putting his participation in the next match against Punjab Kings in doubt.
While Rohit missed the net session and might be an injury doubt for the PBKS game on April 16, Cricbuzz reported that his injury is not expected to keep him out of the team for too long. As per the report, there has been no conclusive evidence of a tear following scans of Rohit’s hamstring on Sunday night, assaying the greatest worry for a player celebrating his 39th birthday in two weeks.
Fans will be hoping it was a strain at worst for the Indian batter, who has had a fairly spotless injury record in the late stage of his career. Rohit had scored 19* when he was replaced by Suryakumar Yadav at the Wankhede Stadium, but hadn’t looked fluent, despite a decent start to the season.
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MI's options in Rohit's absence
Rohit’s potential absence could place further pressure on a Mumbai team struggling find results early in the season: he had formed a good partnership with Ryan Rickelton at the top of the order, and upsetting that combination could continue to cost MI runs and momentum at the top of the order.
While Quinton de Kock has been on the bench and provides similar experience, his inclusion would cost an overseas player lower down the order. The lack of form for a middle order unit of Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya has been the massive concern for MI, who have struggled to be as powerful and threatening a unit as they have looked on paper.
Rohit’s injury was not the only pain point for Indian fans from the MI vs RCB match, as Virat Kohli was also sidelined during the second innings due to what was reported as an ankle injuyr. However, Krunal Pandya had stated in the post-match interview that Kohli was healthy and didn’t provide any concern regarding participation.
MI fans will hope that the net session is a red herring and that Rohit can return in time for their next match, but there is a chance that safety comes first fot the MI team, as they allow their former captain extra time to rest and heal.