Former England spinner Graeme Swann has come out in defence of Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma who’s been criticised as MI concede their fifth successive defeat in as many games in IPL 2022, the latest one a 12-run loss to Punjab Kings in Pune.

PBKS opener Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal got off to a rapid start and build on it after the powerplay as well. Their opening stand was worth 97 runs in 9.3 overs as MI bowlers looked clueless against the pair.

MI though pulled things back in the middle with the help of a steaming over from Jasprit Bumrah that included a yorker bowler of the in-form Liam Livingstone. But, they let things loose once again as Jitesh Sharma(30 off 15) and Shahrukh Khan (15 off 6) propelled PBKS to 198, a total of which MI fell 12 short of.

Amid the flak that’s been thrown towards Rohit Sharma, Graeme Swann pointed out that apart from Bumrah no other bowler for MI has been threatening not just in this game but in the previous losses as well.

The commentator believes that lack of good bowling options has hurt Rohit Sharma the captain.

“I am not happy that Rohit Sharma’s captaincy is questioned here, at all (97-run opening stand and PBKS scoring 198). I think the bowlers are low on confidence. There is a massive difference between a captain who can throw the ball to his bowlers, who can absolutely hit a length,” Swann said on Star Sports.

“Until Jasprit Bumrah came on and bowled a brilliant spell in the middle overs, the Mumbai bowlers were well below-par. So do not, for one second, start thinking it’s Rohit’s fault. Everybody he turned to bowled badly in the first 10 overs. That’s how it is,” he added.

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The five-time champions are now the only side in the tournament to have not registered even a single win. They are facing an early exit from the playoff race and now need only a miracle to propel them into the top four.

Their next match is against Lucknow Super Giants at the Brabourne Stadium on Saturday afternoon.