Former India batter Manoj Tiwary questioned Mumbai Indians' Rohit Sharma's form after the right-handed batter once again got out for a single-digit score. The Hardik Pandya-led side came up short by 36 runs against Gujarat Titans to stumble to their second successive loss in the ongoing 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Runs have been hard to come by for Rohit Sharma in the cash-rich league. In Mumbai's tournament opener against CSK, the India captain was dismissed for a duck as Khaleel Ahmed sent him back to the hut.
In the match against Gujarat Titans, Rohit Sharma scored two boundaries in the first three balls of the Mumbai Indians' innings. However, on the fourth ball, Mohammed Siraj struck back by bowling a perfect delivery that tailed back in sharply, getting the better of Rohit's defence.
Rohit Sharma has scored more than 400 runs in just one IPL season in the last five years. Manoj Tiwary raised alarm bells regarding Rohit's form, asking why he cannot consistently have seasons of 600-700 runs.
Tiwary also cited last year's IPL season, which had a lot of drama because of the change in the Mumbai Indians' captaincy. Hardik Pandya had replaced Rohit Sharma as the skipper of the franchise, and fans didn't take kindly to this development, booing the all-rounder on every ground.
"Look, I'm telling you, I don't want to be tough, but I must be. For some players, you have to be. Look, it's high time Rohit Sharma got back among the runs. The ability of a player like Rohit Sharma is not 400. Last season, he scored 400, he hit a century, that's fine. But where is the 800-900 season? Rohit is just not able to have these types of seasons. Why does Virat Kohli always score? You tell me. It's equally good. It's equally good, but there should be a season where Rohit scores 600-700," Manoj Tiwary told Cricbuzz.
{{/usCountry}}"Look, I'm telling you, I don't want to be tough, but I must be. For some players, you have to be. Look, it's high time Rohit Sharma got back among the runs. The ability of a player like Rohit Sharma is not 400. Last season, he scored 400, he hit a century, that's fine. But where is the 800-900 season? Rohit is just not able to have these types of seasons. Why does Virat Kohli always score? You tell me. It's equally good. It's equally good, but there should be a season where Rohit scores 600-700," Manoj Tiwary told Cricbuzz.
{{/usCountry}}"He should take his orange cap with him. That's how it should be. How will it be if you don't get a good start? I expect a lot from him. That's why he was retained. Because of last year's drama and controversy, it felt like Rohit would leave because there were a lot of small audio clips. Despite that, he was retained. But since there were no runs in the last two matches, the atmosphere must have been mixed up," he added.
'Isn't it too late'
Former India opening batter Virender Sehwag also said that despite being a fan of Rohit Sharma, he believes it would be hard for the India captain to have a season of more than 600-700 runs because it has gotten a bit late.
"What Manoj Tiwary said about Rohit Sharma, where is that season? Isn't it too late for this type of season to come (laughs)? We are also his fans, but we are just asking where the season of 600-700 runs is. When has Rohit Sharma done that? It has been 18 years, when it has not happened in 18 years, how can you hope for this to happen now when he is at the last part of his career?" asked Sehwag.
With the loss against the Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians have slipped to ninth place in the points table. The franchise will next take on defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.