Time To Say Goodbye? Why MI Releasing Rohit Sharma Will Be A Smart Move For IPL 2026

Why Rohit should be released [Source: AP Photo]

Another IPL match and another low score for Mumbai Indians' top-order batter, Rohit Sharma. It hs been a topsy-turvy season for the former MI captain, who started out with a duck against CSK, but then scored a couple of fifties to ignite the season for his fans. However, the slump came once again in the last few matches.

Once the most important player in the squad, Rohit is no longer invaluable and perhaps time has come for the franchise to re-think their strategy and release Rohit ahead of the next season and here's why this could be a smart move for them.

1) Continues struggles in last few seasons

Barring the 2024 season, where Rohit came up with a new-found aggressive avatar, he has been underwhelming in the remaining seasons. Since the 2022 season, which was almost 4 years ago, Rohit has only registered 7 fifty-plus scores, which shows his downfall.

(Rohit stats in last few seasons)

As the table suggests, barring 2024, where he slammed more than 400-plus runs, Rohit has not lived up to the expectations and has hardly played any match-winning knocks. His failure puts a lot of pressure on other batters, mainly Suryakumar Yadav, who has more often than not delivered the goods.

2) Mumbai should build for the future

Rohit (38 years), Jasprit Bumrah (31 years), Suryakumar Yadav (34 years), MI's three best players have aged and are no longer getting younger. While the likes of Bumrah and SKY are still delivering the goods, Rohit has fallen down in the pecking order and hence, MI should look to build a team for the future.

A new, hungry opener for the next season could do worlds of wonders for the side as this season, more often than not Rohit has been dismissed cheaply, which has created troubles for the middle order batters.

Putting pressure on other players

Don't be deceptive by Rohit's IPL 2025 strike rate of 150.99. This has come because in a couple of innings, he has done exceedingly well which has helped him to raise his strike rate. However, in general, he has put the pressure on other batters, especially his opening partner, Ryan Rickelton.

Take for example his numbers Vs PBKS. He scored 24 off 21 balls, with a strike rate of 114.29. This put a lot of pressure on Rickelton, who, in the process of increasing the tempo departed. MI should take a leaf out of PBKS and include a player similar to Priyansh Arya in the team, who can go berserk right from word go.

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