Mumbai Indians (MI) clinched a dramatic 12-run victory against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Match 29 of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.Â
While the win marked MI’s first away triumph of the season, it was the tactical use of former captain Rohit Sharma as an impact substitute that had everyone talking.
Mumbai Indians have made a persistent strategy of deploying Rohit exclusively as an impact player in IPL 2025. Against DC, he scored a brisk 18 runs off 12 balls, including a six and two fours, before being dismissed by Vipraj Nigam.Â
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However, Rohit’s tactical input from the sidelines proved decisive. He suggested bringing Karn Sharma into the attack in the 14th over and recommended the MI players to ask for the ball change. Karn struck on the third ball of the over, dismissing Tristan Stubbs. The leg-spinner also took the wicket of KL Rahul in his next over as MI made a remarkable comeback.
Also read: From Legends to Rising Stars: Top 5 Highest IPL Scores ft. Abhishek Sharma
Post-match, former India batter Manoj Tiwary did not hold back, questioning MI’s decision to limit Rohit to an impact substitute role. He argued that Rohit’s leadership and on-field presence could have been better utilized, asserting that Mumbai Indians should use one of Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir as an impact substitute instead of Rohit.
"How can you bring on a player like Rohit Sharma as an impact sub? Can Hardik Pandya not make any errors on the field, can he not err while making an on-field decision? You need an experienced leader to help him, right? Like Rohit Sharma. MI have two players who are only used as batters, Naman Dhir and Tilak Varma. You mean to say they have more captaincy experience than Rohit?" Tiwary said as quoted on Cricbuzz.
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Rohit has been under immense scrutiny for his batting form this season, managing just 56 runs in five innings at an average of 11.20. His best so far has come against DC at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, where he scored a mere 18 runs off 12 deliveries. This shows the magnitude of his struggle.
As Mumbai Indians have now made a comeback after winning against Delhi, Rohit would also want to walk on a similar path. He will have an opportunity to find his form back when MI faces Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 17 at the Wankhede Stadium.
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