{"id":7643,"date":"2026-05-05T11:59:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/harbhajan-rohits-injury-return-couldve-turned-mis-ipl-2026-fortunes"},"modified":"2026-05-05T11:59:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:59:55","slug":"harbhajan-rohits-injury-return-couldve-turned-mis-ipl-2026-fortunes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/harbhajan-rohits-injury-return-couldve-turned-mis-ipl-2026-fortunes","title":{"rendered":"Harbhajan: Rohit\u2019s injury return could\u2019ve turned MI\u2019s IPL 2026 fortunes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh believes Rohit Sharma\u2019s earlier return from injury could have swung Mumbai Indians\u2019 season in a meaningful way. Rohit marked his comeback at the Wankhede Stadium with a decisive performance against Lucknow Super Giants, helping the franchise chase down a substantial target with comfort.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Harbhajan feels Rohit\u2019s prompt availability might have changed the direction of Mumbai Indians\u2019 campaign.<\/li>\n<li>Rohit\u2019s comeback knock versus Lucknow Super Giants at Wankhede proved crucial in Mumbai\u2019s chase.<\/li>\n<li>The former spinner said Rohit\u2019s presence reduced pressure on the rest of Mumbai\u2019s batting order.<\/li>\n<li>Harbhajan suggested Mumbai\u2019s overall struggles increased during Rohit\u2019s absence, particularly during an early losing stretch.<\/li>\n<li>He believes Mumbai can still reach the playoffs if they win consistently and other results fall their way, potentially at a 14-point mark.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why Harbhajan thinks Rohit\u2019s return mattered<\/h2>\n<p>Harbhajan highlighted the impact of having Rohit in the middle rather than watching from the dugout. In his view, the captain\u2019s role becomes especially significant during high-pressure chases, where building the right platform can determine how the innings is shaped.<\/p>\n<p>He stressed that being on the field allows a batter to influence the chase directly\u2014providing a solid base early and then accelerating when required. Harbhajan argued that Rohit did exactly that against Lucknow, not only setting up the chase but also progressing the innings so that the remaining batters had far less work to complete.<\/p>\n<h2>Composure in the chase, and what could have been<\/h2>\n<p>Harbhajan praised Rohit\u2019s innings as match-winning, adding that the impact would have been even greater had he reached a century. Still, he believed Rohit played exceptionally well while he was at the crease, contributing heavily to Mumbai\u2019s control of the chase.<\/p>\n<p>He also pointed to the period when Rohit was unavailable, saying Mumbai endured difficulties during that time\u2014most notably during their earlier losing run. Harbhajan went as far as to suggest that if the injury had settled sooner, Mumbai might have managed one or two extra wins during the slump, keeping them more firmly in the hunt.<\/p>\n<h2>Playoff hopes remain alive<\/h2>\n<p>Despite acknowledging a tough season, Harbhajan believes Mumbai Indians retain a slim but real possibility of making the playoffs. His belief rests on winning every match from here and reaching 14 points, while also hoping that other teams suffer results that open up the qualification scenario.<\/p>\n<p>Harbhajan reasoned that if rivals begin dropping points, Mumbai could even find themselves in a net run-rate situation at 14 points\u2014where the outcome can swing dramatically. In that context, he said anything remains possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh believes Rohit Sharma\u2019s earlier return from injury could have swung Mumbai Indians\u2019 season in a meaningful way. Rohit marked his&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Harbhajan on Rohit\u2019s IPL return: MI\u2019s 2026 turnaround","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Harbhajan says Rohit Sharma\u2019s earlier injury return could\u2019ve flipped MI\u2019s IPL 2026 campaign, sparking a turnaround with key cameos and calm chases.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Harbhajan on Rohit\u2019s IPL return: MI\u2019s 2026 turnaround<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Harbhajan says Rohit Sharma\u2019s earlier injury return could\u2019ve flipped MI\u2019s IPL 2026 campaign, sparking 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