PBKS vs MI: "Was trying to..." - Rohit Sharma speaks on teasing Dinesh Karthik with "World Cup khelna hai" comment

Rohit Sharma explained the rationale behind the comments he made to Dinesh Karthik in the Mumbai Indians-RCB match at the Chinnaswamy on April 11. 

RCB batting first scored 196 for 8 in their 20 overs with Dinesh Karthik scoring 53 off 23 batting at number six for RCB. Thanks to his innings that RCB were able to post a big total. 

However, their bowlers were unable to defend the total as Mumbai Indians chased down the target inside 15.3 overs. MI started their campaign with three consecutive losses. Then they won against DC and RCB back to back before losing their previous match to CSK. 

Also Read: LSG vs CSK: Devon Conway ruled out of entire IPL 2024. CSK announce his replacement

In a recent podcast featuring him and Adam Gilchrist, Rohit Sharma opened up on what exactly he meant when he said 'World Cup Khelna hai' to Dinesh Karthik.

"I was just trying to put some pressure on him. Eventually after the game against SRH, he spoke somewhere 'some captain was asking if I was ready for the World Cup, this is the answer, said Rohit on the Club Prairie Fire podcast.

Mumbai Indians play Punjab Kings tonight at the Mullanpur stadium. Heading into this game, they are placed eighth and ninth on the points table. Both teams need consistent wins to move up the points table. 

Meanwhile, in the same podcast, he said that he was not too impressed with the "Impact Player" rule that was initiated in the IPL in 2023. It was first used as an experiment in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament of 2022-23. Roiht spoke about the detrimental effects of the same. 

"I generally feel that it is going to hold back [allrounders] because eventually cricket is played by 11 players, not 12 players, I'm not a big fan of impact player. You are taking out so much from the game just to make it little entertaining for the people around. But if you look [at] genuinely just cricketing aspect of it... I can give you so many examples - guys like Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube are not getting to bowl, which for us [India team] is not a good thing" Rohit said on the podcast, which also featured Adam Gilchrist and Michael Vaughan.

Not Big Fan Of Impact Player Rule: Rohit Sharma

"I don't know what you can do about it, but I'm not a fan of it [the rule] honestly speaking.Because there's obviously 12 players for you to select from and whoever that impact player is, you can see how the game is going and change it later depending on what you need, what pitch is behaving" he added further. 

Meanwhile, a probable squad for the Indian players who might be added to the eventual squad for the T20 World Cup has been revealed. One particular name who has done no harm to his chances is Shivam Dube. He has scored 262 runs in the season at an impressive average of 60.50 and a strike rate of 163.51. He has hit 15 sixes so far in the season. 

Meanwhile, the season is reaching the midway point with the team at the bottom really struggling to move up the points table. 

Also Read: PBKS vs MI: Rohit Sharma slams Jay Shah's brainchild