‘He’s just such a key player’ – former South Africa skipper on Rohit Sharma

Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith has said that Rohit Sharma is a key player for Mumbai in the Indian T20 League. Sharma has been struggling with the bat in the four games he has played so far. The right-hander has returned with scores of 41, 10, 3, and 26. Also, not to forget, his side have lost all the four games they have played so far.

Smith has pointed out the lack of form of the Mumbai skipper, saying that the latter is a key player in the team. He added that Dewald Brewis is young and inexperienced but the presence of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, and Kieron Pollard makes a strong batting line-up.

“He’s just such a key player. If you look at the line-up, Rohit, an outstanding player, hasn’t found form. You’ve got Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav injured for a couple of games. He has now come in and is looking good and then Pollard as the power finisher. You’ve got Brevis there but he’s a young man. That’s a very strong batting line-up.”

The legend further added that Sharma is the “energy” in the batting of the team in blue. The former skipper also said that if Sharma gets them to a good start, it sets up the game for the team and allows other batters to play freely. The 117-Test veteran feels that Sharma being appointed as the India skipper in all formats could be taking a mental strain on the latter.

“Rohit is the energy at the top of the order. Gets them off to a start, sets up the game that allows everyone else to play. When he is scoring runs MI are going to win a lot of the time. This is the first tournament he is captaining MI since becoming India’s white-ball captain. Does that mental strain take a toll in the ITL? It’s something to consider,” Smith was quoted as saying by cricket.com.