“Biggest challenge will be to dismiss him”

Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) seamer Umesh Yadav has opined that the biggest challenge for the franchise in their IPL 2026 game against Mumbai Indians (MI) will be dismissing Rohit Sharma. The two teams will meet in Match 65 on Wednesday, May 20 at Eden Gardens.

Against KKR, the opener has amassed 1161 runs in 36 innings at an average of 40.03 and a strike rate of 131.19, including seven fifties and one hundred. Speaking on the Star Sports segment ‘Game Plan,’ Umesh highlighted Rohit’s impressive numbers and said:

“Another thing is that Rohit Sharma’s record against KKR while batting has been very good, he has scored almost 1100 runs against them. That is also something KKR will have to keep in mind. Also, he really likes batting at this ground, which is the Kolkata ground. So I think the biggest challenge for KKR and their bowlers will be to dismiss him.”

Meanwhile, Mohammad Kaif spoke about the key battle between Rohit and Sunil Narine, noting that the latter can trouble the MI opener. He said:

“Narine is a brilliant bowler. This is not just his first year, he has been dominating the IPL for a long time. He was the Man of the Match in the previous game against Gujarat Titans. So of course, it is a battle, but Narine is slightly ahead because of the variation he has. Whether you talk about his off-spin or his carrom ball, both deliveries turn. When he bowls off-spin, the ball turns, and even his carrom ball turns. So it becomes a two-way trap where batters often get stuck. Of course, Rohit Sharma has been a strong batter, but in my opinion, Narine can trouble him because he is a high-quality bowler.”

In T20s, Narine has dismissed Rohit nine times, while conceding 149 runs off 145 balls.

“They have to play shots and attack him” – Mohammad Kaif on batters’ plan against Jasprit Bumrah

In the same discussion, Mohammad Kaif noted that batters are now coming prepared against Jasprit Bumrah and have moved on from the earlier mindset of just surviving his overs. He stated that they are now looking to play shots and attack him. He said:

“Batters are also coming prepared against him. Earlier it used to be that when Bumrah came in, the mindset was just to survive his four overs. But now that is not happening. Now batters are coming with a plan that they have to play shots against Bumrah and attack him, and in that, the batters are finding some success.”

He further stated that MI have struggled this season due to the poor form of Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav, saying:

“Whatever people may say, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah, two players who did not perform well this season, because of that Mumbai has struggled.”

Bumrah has picked up just three wickets in 12 innings, while Suryakumar has scored 195 runs in 11 innings at an average of 17.72 and a strike rate of 144.44, including one fifty.