Rohit Sharma urged to take break from IPL 2023 and return fresh for WTC final

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has suggested Rohit Sharma should take a break from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and return fresh for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

The 2021-23 WTC final is between India and Australia and will be played right after the IPL 2023, starting from June 7 at The Oval.

Rohit-led Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered a 55-run defeat against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Tuesday at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Chasing GT's target of 208, five-time champions MI never looked in the game as they failed to build partnerships, with Nehal Wadhera top-scoring for them with 40 off 21 deliveries. Australia's Cameron Green was their next-best batter as he scored 33 off 26 balls.

MI captain Rohit only managed an eight-ball two runs. And after the match, Gavaskar advised Rohit to take some rest from the IPL and return for the big WTC final with a fresh mind.

"Rohit Sharma should take a break and keep himself fresh for the World Test Championship. Come back again for the last few matches, but right now take a breather himself. He is looking slightly preoccupied, maybe he is thinking about the WTC. I think he needs a little bit of a break," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

'Only a miracle can take MI to playoffs'

Gavaskar slammed the MI bowlers, saying that the players repeating mistakes should be dropped from the team and asked them to get some work done behind the scenes.

"Only a miracle can take Mumbai Indians to the playoffs this season. They will have to play some extraordinary cricket to qualify to the final four. When the bowlers are making the same mistakes, you have to say thank you very much, take a breather and come back after a few games. Do your study, and figure out where you bowled wrong," Gavaskar concluded.

MI are currently placed seventh in the IPL 2023 table, with three victories from seven group games. They have a win more than the three teams below them: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and Delhi Capitals (DC).

Meanwhile, MI's Arjun Tendulkar, son of legendary Sachin Tendulkar, scored his first IPL runs on Tuesday. He hit a six in his knock of 13 off nine balls, while he also picked up a wicket in the first innings as he finished with figures of 1 for 9 in two overs.

'We will work on increasing Tendulkar's pace'

MI bowling coach Shane Bond backed the 25-year-old Mumbai cricketer, saying he was able to do all that was asked of him against GT in Ahmedabad.

After a nightmare outing against Punjab Kings (PBKS), where Tendulkar was hit for 48 runs in three overs, he bounced back against GT by making an early dismissal with the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha.

Speaking in an interview after MI's loss on Tuesday, Bond said that they would be working on increasing Tendulkar's pace. Still, the young bowler managed to deliver on his targets against defending champions GT.

"He did well today, obviously after what happened in the last game. It's never easy to step out onto the ground that is a Colosseum with a big crowd. We will work on increasing his pace, but he did all that was asked of him today.

"It's never easy on the back of a bad day. A few of our bowlers had bad days over the last few games. And that's the thing with T20 cricket, where you got to have thick skin in a short memory and must come out. We must execute all our plans to find ourselves in the playoffs at the back end of the tournament. We just have to be better at what we do," said Bond.