IPL 2022: Optimistic Piyush Chawla cites "law of averages" for Rohit Sharma's form

Even with just two matches to go in Mumbai Indians' IPL 2022 campaign, leg-spinner Piyush Chawla is optimistic about skipper Rohit Sharma's return to form. The cricketer-turned-analyst on Monday cited the "law of averages" to say that Rohit is likely to convert one of his starts into a big knock soon.

The 'law of averages simply conjectures that Rohit, who is averaging a lowly 18.17 in IPL 2022 is likely to play a big knock that'll take the stat closer to his overall IPL average of 30.36. Chawla believes that despite failing to score any half-centuries this season, Rohit has shown many positive signs in his two 40s and as many 20s.

Chawla, who played for the five-time champions in 2021, told ESPNcricinfo:

"Those innings of 40, 35, and 30-somethings have come and he has looked in good form too but that big knock, for which he's known, that is yet to come. Hopefully, we'll see that soon... We talk about the law of averages when a batter is scoring a lot of runs. But the law of averages also works for in-form batters who are unable to get the big scores."

Chawla's remarks came ahead of Mumbai's clash against SunRisers Hyderabad on Tuesday. The Orange Army is Rohit's least favorite opponent. He has scored only 277 runs in 18 games against them at an average of 18.47, striking at 124.22.

Catch the latest IPL live score here on Sportskeeda!

"When Surya returns, this batting order will look even better" - Piyush Chawla

Despite Mumbai being the first IPL team out of the qualifying race, Chawla sees promising signs in both their batting and bowling departments. He said new additions Tilak Varma, Tim David, Riley Meredith, and Daniel Sams, alongside the old guard, have formed a core worth watching in the coming years.

Speaking on the batting lineup, he said:

"Absolutely. The way Mumbai has planned their team, Tilak has batted really well and Tim David has shown what's he capable of. There are experienced batters like Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan, who has been playing for the last few years. When Surya [Kumar Yadav] returns, this batting order will look even better."

Chawla lauded Jasprit Bumrah for his five-wicket haul in the last match against Kolkata Knight Riders, saying that despite the pacer's dip in numbers, he never became his "critic". He then lauded the bowling unit as "quite good and settled".

The leg-spinner signed off by saying:

"I have always been a fan of him, never been a critic because I know what kind of bowler he is. As they say, form is temporary and class in permanent and he's shown that with that spell... That hunger was visible. When wickets don't come, you play for your self-respect which he did. Apart from Jasprit Bumrah, Riley Meredith is doing well and then Daniel Sams has done well. So overall the bowling looks quite good and settled."

The Mumbai-SunRisers clash will be played at the Wankhede Stadium on May 17, starting at 7:30 pm IST.