One of the Indian Premier League’s most successful cricketers, and a brand name as big as any, Rohit Sharma’s presence in the 18th edition has been largely limited on the field. Used as an Impact Substitute by Mumbai Indians in all but one match this season, the World Cup-winning captain hasn’t spent too much time in the middle as a specialist batter. In all six of the matches he has played for MI this season (missing one due to injury), Rohit has not batted beyond the Powerplay. His scores so far read: 0, 8, 13, 17, 18, 26. An upward trend for sure, and he looked in better touch in his last outing than he did in the first, but that’s clutching at straws.

In his role as India’s captain, and pace-setter for the batting innings in white-ball cricket in the recent past, Rohit has often spoken about maximising impact and not worrying about the volume of runs. That maxim should hold any batter in good stead in modern T20 cricket; it’s why perhaps the Orange Cap is not seen as such a good metric by those who live and breathe this format. But a batter – one who has been retained for Rs 16.30 crore – can’t maximise his impact if his dismissal points read: Over 0.4, 0.4, 5.2, 1.4, 4.6, 3.5.