IPL 2023: Have elevated captaincy challenges impacted MI's Rohit Sharma's performance? Ravi Shastri analyses

Senior opener Rohit Sharma continues to lead five-time former record champion Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). However, MI's performance this season has raised eyebrows, as it is struggling to stay alive in the playoffs race, while it is far from the undisputed side that it was a couple of seasons back.

Also, Rohit's performance as a batter has been average. He is the fifth top run-scorer for the side this season, scoring 184 in 10 at a pale average of 18.40 and a moderate strike rate of 126.89, scoring just a 50 and a best knock of 65. Meanwhile, former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri feels that Rohit's challenges as the skipper might have doubled, which could have impacted his performance.

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Talking to ESPNCricinfo, Shastri said, "The resources you had two or three years ago aren't quite the same. The challenges as a captain might have doubled for him. The work as a captain would have doubled as opposed to two years ago when everything was nice and set - go out there and do the job."

"And then comes the challenge of how do you get them [the team] going, how do you motivate that bunch, how do you create a combination, how do you see who is the best in that lot to fit in and deliver at a certain stage of the game," added Shastri.

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Shastri also feels that his woeful form with the bat could be making Rohit question his abilities as a leader, as he stated, "If you start getting on a purple patch where you are scoring runs, the job as a captain becomes much easier, the body language on the field changes, that energy on the field is different as opposed to when you are not getting runs. You can go flat no matter who you are."

"That's where, as a captain, it is more important that your performances come into play. It is harder now because of the stage of his career and their kind of team. The same team could be terrific in a year or two years once they start gelling together. But, to get that right mix, that's the captain's job," concluded Shastri.