IPL 2026: Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes MI have certainly missed Rohit Sharma: ‘Without strong starts..’

Mumbai Indians (MI) are far from their best in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The Hardik Pandya-led side are in all sorts of trouble with just two wins in seven matches, and find themselves in ninth place with just four points.

A hamstring injury to opener Rohit Sharma during their match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on 12 April made matters worse for the five-time champions.

Rohit was batting on 19 runs from 13 balls against RCB when he sustained the injury, and has missed MI's subsequent matches against Punjab Kings (PBKS), Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Rohit Sharma has so far scored 137 runs from four matches at a strike rate of 165.06, including one half-century.

Without Rohit, Mumbai Indians suffered a batting collapse on Thursday as they were bowled out for 104 in 19 overs while looking to chase down a total of 208.

Chopra also urged the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya to step up with the bat. "Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya haven't contributed enough so far. While there have been positives like Tilak Varma's hundred, the rest of the batting unit needs to step up," he opined.

SKY has aggregated just 157 runs from seven matches this season, including a half-century. Skipper Hardik Pandya has scored just 97 runs from six matches, with his only notable knock being that of a 22-ball 40 against RCB.

The 48-year-old believes that Jasprit Bumrah needs support from other bowlers. The Gujarat pacer himself has endured an underwhelming IPL campaign so far, taking just two wickets from seven matches.

"On the bowling side, apart from Jasprit Bumrah, most bowlers have been leaking runs. Allah Ghazanfar has been consistent but needs better support from the rest," Chopra stated.

Mumbai Indians will next host Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Wankhede Stadium on 29 April.