People are after him, wanting to drop him

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes Mumbai Indians (MI) star Rohit Sharma has once again silenced his naysayers with his impactful batting in IPL 2025. He pointed out that in the past few seasons, fans and experts had questioned his place in the team.

Kaif opined that whenever people write off Sharma, the veteran opener redeems himself by coming up with match-winning performances. The cricketer-turned-commentator said on his YouTube channel ‘Mohammad Kaif’ (from 6:58):

“I have been seeing for so many years that people are after him, wanting to drop him. How many times have we seen this in Rohit Sharma’s career where it seems as if this could be his last match, and he comes and scores 60-70. Whenever he scores runs, he will be the Player of the Match because he scores very quickly.

“This is the story of every year. The pressure is at its peak for him. It seems like one more failure will get him dropped, and the cricket pundits are after him. He has three fifties in four matches. He made a comeback with such a bang, indicating that he shouldn’t be written off. He always answers with his bat,” Kaif added (from 7:30)

Rohit Sharma’s place in the team came under the scanner following a string of underwhelming outings in IPL 2025. However, the 38-year-old bounced back with consecutive half-centuries against Chennai Super Kings and SunRisers Hyderabad.

The seasoned campaigner also shone with the bat in Mumbai’s 100-run victory over Rajasthan Royals on Thursday, May 1, scoring 56 off 36. He has chalked up 293 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 155.02.

“The bowlers around Bumrah get an advantage” – Mohammad Kaif on ace speedster’s role on MI’s resurgence in IPL 2025

In the same video, Mohammad Kaif also highlighted Jasprit Bumrah’s role in Mumbai’s miraculous turnaround in IPL 2025. The Hardik Pandya-led side got a new lease of life after the fast bowler joined the lineup.

Bumrah missed four games, as was recovering from a back injury. Emphasizing that the star seamer’s presence has benefited the other bowlers in the team, Kaif said (from 1:57):

“MI needed Jasprit Bumrah between Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar. Bumrah’s pressure is like the dialogue from Sholay. Similarly, the batters say hit the other bowlers otherwise Bumrah will come.

“Batters go with this plan, which is Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and the spinners get wickets. The bowlers around Bumrah get an advantage because the batters don’t want to face Bumrah.

Kaif also shed light on how Bumrah has been Mumbai’s bowling captain, constantly guiding and speaking to the bowlers during games (from 5:00):

“With the arrival of Bumrah, Mumbai Indians have started moving. They were far behind. He also does one more job. He is the bowling captain, talking to the likes of Bout, Chahar, and everyone. I have seen that from my own eyes at the Wankhede Stadium. The camera doesn’t capture these things.”

Mumbai have won six matches on the trot and are the table-toppers, with seven wins from 11 outings.

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Aditya writes news, features, listicles, and exclusive pieces at Sportskeeda as a cricket journalist. After completing his MBA in Sports Management from Symbiosis, he started his professional journey and has a total work experience of 4 years, which included a stint at Republic World. Impressively, he has also done exclusive on-site coverage of two T20 World Cups (2021, 2022), the 2023 ODI World Cup, and 5 editions of IPL, and boasts a total readership of close to 13 million at Sportskeeda. He has also played cricket professionally at the AIU Zonal level for Ahmedabad district.

Aditya admires Virat Kohli’s exemplary discipline, dedication, and hard work. Kohli’s ‘Shot of the Century’ against Haris Rauf is a moment that left a lasting impact on him, ultimately teaching him a valuable life lesson that self-belief will always bear fruit. His favorite teams are the Indian Cricket Team and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Aditya believes in sourcing information only from trusted sources rather than any random social media posts on the story and being neutral and honest are his reporting strengths. When not writing, he enjoys playing snooker and pickleball with his friends, and he is also a self-proclaimed coffee aficionado.

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Edited by Bhargav