Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) NEW DELHI: Rohit Sharma, who led Mumbai Indians (MI) to five Indian Premier League (IPL) titles, is set to return to competitive cricket in the upcoming IPL season, which begins on March 28. Legendary Indian spinner and former MI player Harbhajan Singh believes that Rohit should remain actively involved on the field rather than being used as an Impact Player.The Impact Player rule, introduced in the 2023 IPL, allows teams to replace one member of the playing XI with one of five designated substitutes at any point in a match.
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This tactical 12th man can bat and bowl his full quota of overs, greatly improving team strategy, increasing scoring rates and enabling specialist batting or bowling reinforcements.Speaking to JioStar, former India spinner Harbhajan urged the Mumbai Indians management to keep Rohit on the field.He said, “Rohit Sharma has been used as the 12th man who just bats but I feel the kind of leader he has been, there should be a player like him on the field.”The 38-year-old featured in most of the matches as an Impact Player last season when Mumbai Indians finished fourth in the points table.Harbhajan also believes MI captain Hardik Pandya can benefit from Rohit Sharma’s experience and make crucial decisions during matches.“In tough matches when you need to take on certain challenges, when a captain sometimes needs a shoulder to lean on, Rohit Sharma can do that for Hardik Pandya,” Harbhajan said.In the last IPL season, Rohit scored 418 runs in 15 matches for Mumbai Indians at an average of 29.86 with a strike rate of 149.29, including a top score of 81.He achieved this after a slow start to the season, finishing with four 50+ scores to cross the 7000 IPL career mark during the eliminator against Gujarat Titans.
