MI vs KKR: Why did Rohit Sharma play as an Impact Player?

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma took the field as an Impact Player against Kolkata Knight Riders due to mild back stiffness, scoring 11 runs off 12 balls. Unfortunately, his contribution wasn’t enough to prevent MI from suffering their eighth defeat in 11 matches, leaving them languishing in ninth place in the IPL standings.

But Why Did Rohit Sharma Play as an Impact Player?

“He just had a mild back stiffness so it was just a precautionary thing,” explained teammate Piyush Chawla, highlighting the team’s focus on maintaining their pride despite the dwindling playoff hopes.

“For the pride and the reputation,” Chawla stated, “because sometimes when you enter on the field, you don’t think whether you are going to qualify or you are not going to qualify. You have to play for your name and that’s what we are playing for.”

Meanwhile, Chawla etched his name in IPL history by becoming the second-highest wicket-taker, surpassing Dwayne Bravo’s tally of 183 wickets. He achieved this milestone by dismissing Rinku Singh with his very first ball of the match.

Reflecting on his achievement, Chawla acknowledged the changing landscape of the IPL and the growing importance of spinners: “It has been a beautiful journey because IPL started 17 years back and at that time nobody gave that much preference to the spinners, but now if you see that in top few wicket-takers from India are all the spinners, [R] Ashwin, Yuzi [Yuzvendra Chahal], myself, so it’s a good feeling.”