IPL 2021 | Virender Sehwag shares his thoughts about Mumbai Indians benching Ishan Kishan

Going into the match against Punjab Kings, Mumbai Indians decided to drop out-of-form Ishan Kishan from their starting lineup with Saurabh Tiwary replacing him. Ishan Kishan has been on a lean patch of form this season. In eight games this season, he has managed only 107 runs at an average of 13.37. A highest score of 28 and a strike rate of 86.99 hasn’t been convincing enough from the young gun who’s capable of so much more.

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag, himself one of the most attacking proponents of the sport, has backed the decision of Mumbai Indians. According to him, Rohit Sharma made the right call by deciding to drop him from the starting XI. For an out-of-form cricketer, being dropped can work wonders quite often and will also help the player in the longer run.

“He (Rohit) looked embarrassed because after the last game he had said that the management will back Ishan Kishan and he’ll stay in the playing XI. I don’t think there is any issue in dropping an Indian player. We have seen several instances of an Indian player getting benched in the IPL. He could have said the player will be backed but we are giving a break for one game,” said Sehwag.

After the previous match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, where Ishan Kishan managed just nine runs, Rohit Sharma had said that the franchise will continue to back Kishan in the upcoming matches. Therefore, while revealing the XI for the match against Punjab Kings today at the toss, Sharma appeared to be slightly embarrassed.

Virender Sehwag mentioned that Rohit has no reason to be embarrassed about his decision to drop Ishan Kishan from the playing XI. The team should come first and Mumbai Indians haven’t been exactly at their best. The defending champions are currently involved in the fight for the top four spots and are struggling to make it to the playoffs.

“Sometimes dropping a player for one game can do wonders for him as it will make him think about his issues that resulted in him losing his place in the team. Rohit shouldn’t be sorry or embarrassed because for him team should come fast and the deserving players should play in the first XI,’” added Sehwag.