The five-time champions, Mumbai Indians, are very well respected for how they plan the season with their star-studded rosters and one of their big decisions in recent years has been using Rohit Sharma as an impact substitute.
The former MI captain still remains one of the crucial cogs of the men in blue, however, they have not needed him on the field throughout the course of 40 overs.
In the matches where they bowl first, Rohit is more often than not missing from the lineup, while he is taken off midway through the second innings in the cases of batting first.
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While the decision does not fit too well with the fans who think that his presence could help Hardik on the field, Mahela Jayawardene has explained the reasoning behind such use of Rohit in the ongoing season.
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Why does the Mumbai Indians use Rohit Sharma as an impact substitute?
Ahead of their match against the Gujarat Titans at Wankhede on May 6, the MI head coach spoke in the pre-match presser, where he said the decision was not taken ahead of the season and the need for fast runners in the field leading to the substitutions.
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He also added that Rohit has carried a niggle from the Champions Trophy that they did not want to worsen in the IPL.
"No, it wasn't at the start. Obviously, Rohit was on the field in some of the games. But if you look at the composition of the team, most of the guys are doing dual roles. Most of them are bowling. At the same time, some of the venues need boundary runners," said the MI coach.
"You need guys with speed and all that. So that also comes into play. And Rohit was also nursing a niggle from the Champions Trophy. So we wanted to make sure that we don't push him too hard. And we have managed that while batting is the most important thing," he added.
He went on to praise the contributions of the former skipper in some crucial decisions and being involved in the match, despite sitting in the dugout and admitted that there is a toss-up between him and other Indian batters like Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma.
"He's contributed tremendously whether he's on the field or not. If you've seen, he's always browning the dugout or he goes in during timeouts. And there's a lot of communication happening. So actively involved," he continued.
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"But it's just overall planning for us to make sure that we have all the bowling options that we need on the field. And we have a lot of senior heads as well. Most likely to be taken out would be a domestic batter. So it's a hard choice for me. But it's a good headache to have," Jayawardene concluded.
How has Rohit Sharma performed in IPL 2025?
Sharma is currently MI's 3rd highest run scorer in the season behind Surya and Ryan Rickleton with 293 runs in 10 innings played.
| Innings | Runs | Avg/SR | 50/100 | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 293 | 32.55/155.02 | 3/0 | 76* |
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