MI vs. GT, IPL 2025: According to Mumbai Indian head coach Mahela Jayawardene, the five-time champions felt the need for players who could bowl and be quick in the field, so they decided to use MI’s batting mainstay Rohit Sharma as an “impact sub” without planning.

Jayawardene said that Rohit was also carrying a niggle from India’s successful Champions Trophy campaign on the eve of Tuesday’s match against the Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium.

“No, it wasn’t initially. When questioned whether that has been the plan from the start of the season, Jayawardene said, “Obviously, Ro (Rohit) was on the field in some of the games,” during MI’s training session.

“However, if you look at the team’s makeup, the majority of the players play two roles; the majority of them bowl. It also comes into play since certain venues need boundary runners, which means you need people with speed and all that.

“Ro was also nursing a niggle from the Champions Trophy so we wanted to make sure that we don’t push him too hard, and we have managed that while (his) batting is the most important thing,” he said.

Other than that, Rohit has made “tremendous” contributions on and off the field, according to Jayawardene.

“If you’ve seen, he’s always been around in the dugout, or he goes in during timeouts, and there’s a lot of communication that’s been happening, so actively involved.”

Jayawardene said that Rohit and Ryan Rickelton’s effectiveness as an opening duo has benefited MI.

“For any team, the openers do play a very valuable part in establishing the innings and especially with the batting lineup that we have, the way we build when we get a good start, it always complements that,” he said.

“It’s just that even though Ro, probably (in) the last few years, he hadn’t (had) those big scores but he was trying to give us that impetus as well — even though I was in the head coach, I was watching — he used to get those quick 20s or 30s but couldn’t convert.”

Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling speed has increased, according to Jayawardene.

“He recovered well, and he quickly found his rhythm as well. One of Jasprit’s advantages is that he has a great deal of control, is confident in his approach, and adds a whole new level of complexity to this assault,” he said.

“There is nothing wrong with him; he is well. We’ve kept an eye on him, and as his speed improves, so does his execution. We also saw that he was quite aggressive in the last game and knew exactly how he wanted to approach things,” Jayawardene said.