New Delhi: Indian batting great Sunil Gavaskar opined that Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma should take a break from the ongoing IPL and return rejuvenated in the World Test Championships final.
Rohit had another bad day at the office as he got dismissed for two off eight balls early in the innings as MI suffered a 55-run loss to Gujarat Titans on Tuesday.
The MI skipper has not found much success with the bat this season as he has scored just 181 runs in seven matches so far at an average of 25.86 and a strike rate of 135.07. He has been dismissed between 20 and 45 on four occasions; his highest score of 65, his only fifty this season, came in against Delhi Capitals.
Speaking on Star Sports in a post-match show, Gavaskar suggested giving Rohit a break for a few matches in the IPL to keep himself fit in order to be in a rhythm for the WTC final.
"I would like to see some change in the batting order for Mumbai Indians. Honestly, I would also say that Rohit should maybe also take a break for the time being, and keep himself fit for the World Test Championship final. He can come back again for the last few matches, but right now, he should take a little bit of a breather himself," Gavaskar said.
"He is looking just that little bit preoccupied. Maybe at this stage he is thinking about the WTC final, I don't know. But I do believe that at this stage he needs a little bit of a break, and come back for the last three or four matches so that he is in rhythm for the World Test Championship final," he added.
MI have had a roller-coaster ride this IPL. After losing their first two matches they came back to win three in a row before again losing two back-to-back games.
At halfway through the tournament, the MI are in the seventh spot in in the 10-team IPL with three wins from seven games.
Speaking on Mumbai's performance, Gavaskar said that the franchise needed some miracle that would help them to qualify for the playoffs.
"It's going to be a miracle that's going to make them qualify for the IPL playoffs. The way they are at the moment, yes, they could conceivably finish at number four, but they will have to play some extraordinary cricket, both batting as well as bowling," Gavaskar said.
