Rohit Sharma Misses Match Against Lucknow Due to Injury, Raj Bawa Gets a Chance
Mumbai Indians had to play an important match of IPL 2025 without their experienced opener Rohit Sharma. He did not play in the match against Lucknow Super Giants. Head coach Mahela Jayawardene said that Rohit got hurt during practice a day before the match. He was hit on his iliotibial (IT) band near his knee, which caused pain and made it difficult for him to walk properly.
The match was played on April 4 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The Mumbai team had won their last match against Kolkata Knight Riders, but this injury came as a big blow before facing Lucknow.
Mahela Jayawardene Shares Update on Rohit’s Injury
Ro got a hit on his knee just in the IT (iliotibial) band, he tried to bat yesterday and couldn’t put any weight on it,” Jayawardene told the press at conference.
Again, he came and did a fitness test early today (Friday) to try, and it was discomfort for him to put weight on that so he felt it wasn’t 100% for him to play this game. That’s why we thought we will give him a few more days to try and get through that. Unfortunate what happened in the nets.
Rohit’s Performance in IPL 2025 So Far
Rohit has not done well in this season so far. In the first three matches, he has scored only 21 runs in total, with scores of 13, 8, and 0. He has struggled to face the fast bowlers and has not looked comfortable while batting.
Mumbai Indians also had a tough start to this season. Jasprit Bumrah missed the first few matches and Hardik Pandya was also not available in the beginning. The team lost their first two matches but came back strong by winning against Kolkata Knight Riders at home.
Even though he didn’t play, Rohit was seen at the ground before the match. He was talking to Suryakumar Yadav and later came to the field during a timeout when the team was bowling.
Raj Bawa Gets a Chance in Playing XI
Rohit’s place in the team was taken by young all-rounder Raj Bawa. He had earlier played two IPL matches for Punjab Kings and was a known name from the 2022 Under-19 World Cup.
Mumbai bowled first in the match and managed to stop Lucknow at 203/8. Hardik Pandya bowled very well and took five wickets. Mitchell Marsh scored 60 runs off 31 balls, Aiden Markram made 53, and Ayush Badoni with David Miller helped the team go past 200.
Mumbai Indians started badly in their chase. Both openers got out early, but Naman Dhir (46) and Suryakumar Yadav (67) tried to take the team close. However, leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi bowled economically and took one important wicket, giving just 21 runs in four overs. Tilak Varma also struggled and retired out after scoring 25 runs from 23 balls. In the end, Mumbai lost the match by 12 runs.
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