"It is amply clear that T20 game has moved on from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli"- Saba Karim

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Yashasvi Jaiswal (PC: IPLT20)
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Yashasvi Jaiswal (PC: IPLT20)

Former India player Saba Karim recently opined that T20 cricket has moved on from the style of batsmanship of the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He made the comment after witnessing ultra-aggressive knocks from players like Suryakumar Yadav and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who are redefining T20 batting in India.

Suryakumar Yadav has become a big name in the T20 format with his scintillating innings at astonishing strike rates consistently over the past two years. Yashasvi Jaiswal and a couple of other young Indian batters are following a similar path and have been performing well in the ongoing IPL.

Veterans like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are finding it difficult to catch up with them. Rohit has endured a lean batting form so far in IPL 2023, as he has scored only 191 runs at a strike rate of 124.83.

Meanwhile, Kohli has been a consistent performer for RCB, accumulating 420 runs across 11 games at a strike rate of 133.75. However, he has been struggling to maintain a high strike rate in the middle overs against spinners for quite some time in the shortest format.

At the same time, players like Suyakumar Yadav are creating more impact by scoring runs at a strike rate of 186.13, complying with the demands of modern-day cricket.

Giving his opinion on the matter in his latest Tweet, Saba Karim wrote:

"When one sees Jaiswal and SKY bat, it is amply clear that T20 game has moved on from Rohit sharma and Virat Kohli!!"

"They can still continue to trust that player"- Simon Doull feels MI should keep backing Rohit Sharma amidst his poor batting form

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Simon Doull recently put his weight behind underfire MI captain Rohit Sharma. He opined that the MI management should back their skipper as their team is doing decently even without his contributions with the bat.

He referenced that CSK did the same with Shane Watson in 2018 and reaped the rewards in the final match as he scored a sensational century, single-handedly winning them the match. Simon Said:

"When a team keeps winning without a player scoring runs, they can still continue to trust that player. This is what CSK did with Watson (in 2018). They carried him through the tournament and he repaid the faith in the final.
"Loved the way Ishan went about hitting in the powerplay. But it's just not working for Rohit. Now what happens if Tilak Varma is fit? You can't drop Nehal Wadhera now."

Do you think MI should back Rohit Sharma or should they drop him? Sound off in the comments section.

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