Cricketers, Indian cricketers in particular, are entertainers, superstars and celebrities. What we often don't emphasise enough though is that they are human beings as well, just like you and me.
Yes, they are professionals and are paid big bucks and all of that bling but what to do with the heart, the mind, and the human emotions. Unfortunately, these don't function as per the IPL auction cheque.
For a moment, take away all the glitz and glamour of top-drawer competitive cricket and try to put yourself in Rohit Sharma's shoes.
Designation: all-format captain, India, and captain, Mumbai Indians. A Maharashtra-born man on the verge of turning 35. Married to 34-year-old Ritika Sajdeh and father to three-year-old Samaira Sharma.
Ever since the final of the World Test Championship in England last year, Rohit Sharma has been trying to keep pace with the fast-moving treadmill of competitive cricket.
India's heart-wrenching loss in the maiden WTC final, and a high-octane and almost-historic Test series against England was followed by the second half of IPL 2021. Hot on its heels was an emotional rollercoaster of a T20 World Cup. Look away for a moment and you'd risk missing the New Zealand tour of India which marked the beginning of Rohit Sharma's T20 International captaincy stint.
He did miss the India tour of South Africa due to an injury but most of that time was spent sweating it out at the National Cricket Academy, away from home, in Bengaluru. The recovery was followed by the West Indies tour of India, the Sri Lanka tour of India, and lo and behold, another IPL.
Amid all this, Rohit Sharma must have been trying to balance the pressures that come with the all-format India captaincy and the media commitments both for the national side and the Mumbai Indians.
Add to that, the thorough formulation of the auction strategy for the IPL mega auctions and then having to make do with limited resources despite building a world-class franchise over the last decade.
Take a moment to absorb all of this and then multiply it by five, given that he has been doing all this while moving from one biosecurity bubble to another in this new COVID-19 life. Considering all this, it is nothing short of a miracle that he still remembers how to hold a bat and isn't chasing the comperes with a stump in his hands.
Rohit Sharma reacts on the field.
(Image: BCCI)
After Mumbai Indians' sixth loss in IPL 2022, which almost pushed them to a point of no return with regards to the playoff qualification race, this is what an exhausted-looking Rohit Sharma had to say in the post-match presentation ceremony:
"I'm trying to prepare myself in the way I prepare for every game, that is no different. It's not coming off, I take the full responsibility of not putting the team in the situation of what they expect from me. I back myself to go out there and enjoy the game and do what I have been doing all these years. It's important to keep looking forward. It's not the end of the world, we have come back before and we will try and come back again."
Unfortunately for the Mumbai Indians and the Rohit Sharma fans, the words rung hollow. If there is one thing the MI captain is not doing on the field, it is enjoying his cricket.
You see a proactive, energetic and chuckling captain in India Blues and then contrast it with Rohit Sharma in MI's royal blue kit, shoulders drooped, without a spring in his step, and he cuts the sorry image of a defeated man.
This is what eight consecutive losses can do to you. But, Rohit ought to find the fun of the bat and the ball again, precisely why he began his cricketing journey on the maidans of Mumbai.
What isn't helping his cause is his returns with bat in hand. Mind you, this is the same Rohit Sharma who sits right at the top of the run-scoring charts in T20 Internationals across all teams with 3313 runs and has smashed 435 runs from 12 matches at an average of 36.25 and a strike rate of 145.97 post his twin failures against Pakistan and New Zealand at the beginning of the 2021 T20 World Cup.
After India's slow going in the aforementioned WC matches, Rohit Sharma made a concerted effort to go after the bowlers in the powerplay. In fact, in his six T20I innings after the two disappointments, he struck at 168.78 in the powerplay with the help of 22 boundaries and 10 sixes.
Sharma decided to follow the same template coming into the IPL as well, with a 32-ball 41 in his first outing against Delhi Capitals. But, things began to go south from then on.
Rohit Sharma dejected after getting dismissed.
(Image: BCCI)
What's interesting is that the stylish batter isn't out of form. In fact, his 15-ball 26 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, 17-ball 28 against Punjab Kings and 31-ball 39 against Lucknow Super Giants spell the opposite.
He has always had class about him and the way he times the cricket ball, it pings off the middle of his bat. However, his dismissals are coming against the run of play and he has failed to go big at a juncture when his team needs Rohit Sharma, the batsman, more than ever.
Another variable which has created pressure on him is the returns of his opening partner Ishan Kishan. The most expensive signing of the last auctions, Kishan started off IPL 2022 on a bright note, with a 48-ball 81 and 43-ball 54, but hasn't even managed a strike rate of 100 since then.
That Mumbai Indians' highest wicket-taker this season, Murugan Ashwin, isn't even part of their playing XI and their bowling is among the worst in the competition, is further piling on the pressure over Rohit Sharma, the captain and Rohit Sharma, the opener.
That said, Rohit has never been an IPL giant. His 5764 IPL runs at 30.6 and a strike rate of 130.29 are good, but not extraordinary. In fact, they pale in comparison to KL Rahul's IPL average of 48.5 and strike rate of 137.45.
It might surprise a few but the last time Rohit struck at 135 in the IPL was way back in 2015 and the last time his average in an IPL season touched 30 was in 2016.
After eight losses from as many matches, Mumbai Indians are already out of the playoff contention. With the big-ticket series against South Africa and England lined up shortly after the IPL, it won't be a bad idea for captain Rohit Sharma to put his feet up on the bench, blood in a few youngsters with an eye on the next two years and allow somebody like a Suryakumar Yadav to take over the reins, in order to get away from the cacophony and rekindle his joy for the game.
Because, for all the talent and composure that Rohit Sharma possesses, even God rested on the seventh day of his creation, and a knackered MI skipper can certainly do with some of his own.
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