The Mumbai Indians (MI) are closely monitoring veteran opener Rohit Sharma’s health in preparation for Monday’s IPL 2025 matchup against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Wankhede Stadium. Following a net practice on Sunday, Rohit, who missed MI’s most recent match against the Lucknow Super Giants because of a knee injury, will have his availability evaluated.
The 36-year-old had played in MI’s opening three games of the season, scoring 13, 8, and 0 goals before being injured. In his last game, he played as an Impact Player against the Kolkata Knight Riders, scoring 13 runs in a successful 117-run chase.
Ro [Rohit] is going to bat today as well, and he looks good.
Rohit was uncomfortable after he unluckily struck his leg while batting. Yesterday we were on the road. “We will evaluate that after he has a hit today,” MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene stated the night before the match at Wankhede Stadium.
Notably, the veteran batter has been hitting well in the nets, according to the MI head coach. He added that it is unfair to judge him solely on the basis of the two games and that a player of his calibre can achieve great things if he puts in the effort.
“He played well in the nets and had a few hits. If you’re telling me to check someone’s performance every two innings, that’s a little unfair. I still remember the Champions Trophy winning knock from his final innings. Therefore, we must reciprocate by inviting the more seasoned men to the party. We’re going to do that because, as Mumbai, we’ve always trusted the core group to deliver for us. Unfortunately, he was struck in the nets. Hopefully, he will recover fully, and we will keep supporting the players to help us achieve our goals,” he continued.
With just one victory—a home victory over KKR—the five-time champions are now in the bottom half of the standings. In their most recent defeat to LSG, where Rohit was benched and Raj Angad Bawa made his debut, they have struggled away from home.
The contentious decision to retire Tilak Varma in the last stages of the LSG game is one of MI’s decisions that has drawn attention. Tilak was replaced when MI needed 24 from seven balls as he was having trouble scoring 25 from 23 balls.
In the future, MI will go to Delhi to play the Capitals before coming home to welcome the Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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