Rohit Sharma Fails To Convert International Performance In IPL, Says Saba Karim

Former India wicket-keeper Saba Karim thinks that Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma does not replicate his international form in IPL.

Rohit Sharma was in phenomenal form in the recently unfinished Test series against England where he scored 368 runs from eight innings at an average of 52.57.

Rohit Sharma’s performances don’t get much attention in IPL: Saba Karim

Rohit amassed 250 runs from seven innings in IPL 2021 and he could manage only one half-century in the first phase of the tournament.

Saba Karim feels that Rohit Sharma’s performance gets overshadowed by the other Mumbai Indians batters.

“There’s a need for improvement in his batting. He’s the captain and the Mumbai Indians are winning trophies under him, that’s a different thing. They have a lot of match-winners so his performances don’t get much attention. His most important role in the team is as a batsman,” Saba Karim said on YouTube channel Khelneeti. 

“This is a peculiar case. Every time he goes to the IPL he’s in brilliant form in international cricket but fails to convert it during the tournament,”  said in an interview on,” he added.

Rohit Sharma was appointed as Mumbai Indians’ captain in the middle of the 2013 season and from there on, he has won the team five IPL titles and a Champions League T20 cup.

Saba Karim is of the opinion that a player gets a lot distracted by the burden of captaincy and it eventually reflects on his batting performance.

“I sometimes feel that a player gets consumed too much into captaincy and it’s possible his focus wavers from batting,…If you are a batsman-captain, your first role is to make runs with the bat. Captaincy gets better with the confidence from batting which has happened in Rohit Sharma’s case as well,” Karim said. 

“However, when you have been captaining for a long time, the focus, preparation and temperament you need to have there gets disturbed. You tend to think more as a captain on batting and bowling strategies.

“It’s very important for a captain to have that clarity when he goes out to bat. I expect to see that change in his batting this time, hopefully, it’s not against Delhi Capitals though (chuckles),” he added. 

Rohit Sharma will lead Mumbai Indians in the second phase of IPL 2021 as the five-time IPL champions currently sit fourth on the points table.

Also Read: Aakash Chopra Feels Rohit Sharma’s Discipline Against England Was Similar To Sachin Tendulkar’s In 2004