IPL 2018, KKR vs MI: 5 players to look forward to

Rohit Sharma

Everyone expected Rohit Sharma to have a fantastic IPL. His ability to strike the ball cleanly and the fact that he is the skipper of the defending champions MI should have given him the morale boost to deliver.

But so far, Rohit Sharma has delivered only in two games with the bat, and his captaincy hasn’t been that impressive compared to the captains of the other franchises. He is still to figure out which position to bat in. It's a lack of self-confidence, which is evident to everyone.

A person who possesses such good striking ability should always bat in the top three irrespective of the match situation or the pitch conditions. Even after 10 games, Rohit Sharma doesn’t know where he wants to bat, which is a cause for concern.

Also, as a captain, he has found his mojo after few disappointing losses. There are few aspects of his bowling which are a concern for MI if they want to qualify for the playoffs. He’s not finishing the full quota of four overs of someone like Mayank Markhande who has been so impressive in this IPL by getting 13 wickets.

One big area of concern which he needs to sort out quickly is who bowls the 20th over of the innings. That has ailed MI so far as they have lost games in the last over. He has tried four different bowlers in their last four outings and luckily Krunal Pandya delivered against KKR at the Wankhede.

The question he has to ask himself is whether he should stick to Krunal as the bowler who can finish games which is unlikely, or if he should give the ball to the best bowler Jasprit Bumrah.

MI fans would hope that Rohit Sharma has answers to all these questions when they face off against KKR in what again is a do or die contest.