The most capped player in T20 World Cup history, Rohit Sharma has found himself struggling through a lean IPL patch. Can he turn things around at the World Cup?

It now seems a long, long ago time that Rohit Sharma brought an end to his 12-year century drought in the IPL, hitting an unbeaten ton as Mumbai Indians fell some way short against Chennai Super Kings. Some wondered if it signalled a new chapter in Rohit’s IPL career: freed of captaincy duties, the muted celebrations emphasising that this was just the start. Others pointed out how the innings fell through in the second half, plunging drastically behind MI’s rising run-rate requirement in the death overs.

It’s been just about a month since that 63-ball 105 not out in Mumbai: that knock itself has been a microcosm of Rohit’s IPL campaign of extremes. Since the century, his batting numbers have nosedived, raising serious concerns about the India captain’s form so close to the T20 World Cup.

A tale of two halves in the IPL

Since that century, Rohit has crossed 30 just once in seven innings, averaging 12.57 in the period. Along with the low scores has come a serious dip in strike rate: his last five knocks have all had a strike rate of 100 or lower.

In the past, Rohit has started slow before switching gears to catch up. This year, he has just not been around long enough to build on that. He has either been dismissed too early or has stayed put for too long, eating up deliveries in the process.

An eight-ball innings of eight in a chase of 259 against Delhi Capitals did much more harm than good for Mumbai. Earlier this week, chasing 158 in 16 overs against KKR, he stayed put for 24 deliveries and until the eighth over, aggregating 19 before his misery ended.

Brought in as an Impact Player due to stiffness, Rohit ambled to 11 off 12 against the same team in a chase of 161 before Sunil Narine sent him back at the end of the powerplay. In a chase of 174 against SRH, he scratched his way to four runs off five balls.

Seven of those dismissals have come against pace and four against spin, the latter specifically when he overstayed at the crease, struggling to break free. Ten of those dismissals have been caught dismissals, and one bowled.

Left-arm pace has been his biggest enemy, with five dismissals against them so far, all but one inside the powerplay, and two in the first over itself.

The reason behind this dip isn’t apparent. The first half of Rohit’s IPL 2024 did seem to herald a welcome resurgence: the 20 sixes he has hit are the most in a single season of his since 2015. After the first five innings, his strike rate was measured at 167.

This came as a welcome change from Rohit’s IPL numbers of the past. In the last five years, his season strike rate has hovered between 120 and 132. In 42 out of 70 IPL innings between 2019 and 2023, his strike rate has been less than 134, his T20 career strike rate.

But a lot has changed very quickly six games into the season.

The lack of boundaries is an obvious indicator of his struggles. In the last six innings, Rohit has hit just five fours and two sixes in 59 balls. That’s roughly a boundary only once in eight balls. Now out of playoffs contention, MI, and Rohit, have one last game before the action shifts to the World Cup.

T20 World Cup

No player has more T20 World Cup appearances than Rohit (39), an understated contributor to India’s triumph of 2007. The last few editions, though, haven’t given the best reflection of his abilities in the format. The 2022 edition was particularly forgettable: in six matches, he struck at 106, averaging 19.33. His only score above 30 came against the Netherlands.

The overall numbers were slightly better in 2021, but were dominated by his two fifties against Afghanistan and Namibia, as well as a 30 off 16 against Scotland. Against Pakistan, he fell first ball; against New Zealand, he made a run-a-ball 14.

Even in the 2016 edition, Rohit’s number did not make for pretty reading: only in three out of five innings did the strike rate go above 100, and only once did he cross 20.

Now, it’s difficult to look at T20 World Cup numbers in isolation, given the gaps between them. Rohit will hope a better indicator is his form in the ODI World Cup last year, where he ended as the second-highest run-getter and operated a refreshingly attacking manner, his strike rate higher than anyone in the top ten run-getters’ list.

How has Rohit fared in the Americas?

Rohit has travelled with the team to the Americas with the Indian T20I team five times, and the results have been average. In the last series – in 2022 – he struck at 164 (a rise from 120 from four games in 2019). In his last two ODI visits (2019 and 2023), he had a limited role to play, scoring 40 runs across three innings.

In all T20Is, Rohit’s strike rate has steadily got better over the years. Since the start of 2020, he’s struck at 144, four units higher than his career strike rate. Over 35 percent of his career sixes have also come in this period.

T20I swansong

This World Cup could be the T20I swansong of 37-year-old Rohit, who finds himself at a complicated juncture due to the drama in his current IPL team. Sacked from captaincy in a manner many consider unceremonious, Rohit will lead India at the World Cup itching to prove a point, captaining a side that also contains his current IPL skipper.

Given his slim IPL returns, there have also been suggestions to play him in a non-opening role. Matthew Hayden, for one, suggested pushing Rohit down to four and opening with Yashasvi Jaiswal and the in-form Virat Kohli. Others believe Rohit’s best spot is opening, even though there has been the odd instance where he has batted as a non-opener in the last few years.

The odds are stacked against Rohit: a lukewarm T20 World Cup record, wretched form and the uncertainty of playing on new pitches in the Americas. To top it, the off-field chatter would not have helped. And, as captain, there’s been the hanging question of India’s lack of silverware for a while now.

If Rohit can come out of this successful, it could be one of the greatest concluding chapters of a storied cricketing career.

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