An average of 13.66 – is Rohit on the decline?

Rohit Sharma has been under scrutiny for his poor form in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and his struggles so far in 2025 are consistent with a downward trend in the competition over the past three years.

The former Mumbai Indians captain, who still leads India’s white-ball teams, has scored 82 runs in six innings at an average of 13.66.

The opener’s 26 from 16 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday was his highest score this season, and with three sixes he showed some glimpses of a return to form before another soft dismissal off Pat Cummins.

“He’s finding it very hard to be consistent,” former IPL batter Abhishek Jhunjhunwala told BBC Sport.

Rohit’s run drought has also mirrored his own team’s form, as Mumbai have struggled to find a consistent winning combination – they are seventh in the table with three wins from seven.

However, this is unique to Rohit in the IPL specifically as he is still having plenty of success internationally with a T20 World Cup win in 2024 and the Champions Trophy title last month.

He is also a Mumbai legend having led them to five titles in 11 years as captain, while he is set to have a stand named after him at the iconic Wankhede stadium.

Mumbai’s most recent IPL title came in 2020, having also won the previous year, and Rohit was replaced as skipper by Hardik Pandya in 2024 – but in the all-rounder’s first edition in charge, they finished bottom of the table.

Rohit’s legendary status with the side is likely to earn him a longer run in order to solve his personal batting problems, but it could present the Mumbai hierarchy with a brave call to make if he cannot regain form – and if the team maintains its inconsistency, too.

“There is a lot of pressure on him, especially when he’s playing for India,” Jhunjhunwala added.

“In the IPL, they are ruthless as we’ve seen with so many players, and we’ve seen that with Mumbai Indians.

“There will be patience with him, especially at Mumbai, because he’s done brilliantly for them over the years.

“He’s still got it. I just feel that he’s maybe lost a bit of hand-eye coordination and that can happen, but your career can really go down quite quickly. He’s got to work on a lot of things, especially his fitness.”

Former England bowler Tymal Mills, who played with Rohit at Mumbai in 2022, also backed him to rediscover his best form and described him as “a nightmare for bowlers” when in full flow.

“He’s one of the most experienced players in the world, he has been there and done it at the highest level for a very long time,” Mills told BBC Sport.

“He will stick to his processes, he will hit a lot of balls. You’ll always see him going to training early and getting his extra work done before everyone else arrives.

“When you have played as long as Rohit has, you’re going to go through bad spells. Players of his class always re-emerge.

“He has earned the right to get a long leash because he’s had such a successful career and been a nightmare for bowlers.”