I know how IPL works and what it needs to be a successful team: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma. (Source -IPL/BCCI)

Rohit Sharma shared his mantra to success when he was the captain for the Mumbai Indians between 2013 and 2023. Ahead of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the Mumbai batter was replaced by Hardik Pandya, who was traded in from Gujarat Titans.

Rohit’s sacking and Hardik’s subsequent appointment were met with severe criticism from the cricket fraternity as not many people were ready to accept the Baroda all-rounder at the helm of one of the most successful franchises in the league. Hardik was booed at every stadium where Mumbai Indians played in IPL 2024, including their home ground – Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai’s dismal start to the campaign worsened the condition as they lost their first three matches. Currently, they are languishing at No. 9 on the points table with two wins and four losses from six games.

Rohit established his legacy at Mumbai Indians after taking over as captain midway through the 2013 season. He led the team to five IPL titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. The 36-year-old recently spoke about his journey as a captain in the IPL for Mumbai Indians.

“All these years actually, this has been the story of Mumbai Indians where we started pretty slow and then things start to change. I guess it has to do with when you have new players in the squad, it’s just about because the captain for the last ten years was stagnant, the coaches have changed for a few years, but the captain has been stagnant. I actually went with some thought process and I wanted to know from the people who would come in, to get them into my thought process because I know how IPL works and what it needs to be a successful team, so it takes time to get everyone on board and make them do something that they are not used to doing,” Rohit said on Club Prairie Fire podcast with iconic Australian wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist and former England skipper Michael Vaughan.

“For example, there have been so many cricketers, overseas players , local players, who have come into the team and I know the Wankhede Stadium because I’ve played there, I’ve grown up there, so I know what works there, what you need to do,” the current India captain added.

Also Read: ‘DK will be easy to convince I guess’ – Rohit Sharma on persuading MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik for T20 World Cup 2024

How has Rohit Sharma fared in IPL 2024?

Rohit has scored 261 runs from six matches at an average of 52.20 and a strike rate of 167.31 in IPL 2024. He scored his second IPL century and first of this season in Mumbai’s last match against Chennai Super Kings. However, the Men in Yellow went on to win the match by 20 runs.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2024: Rohit Sharma denies reports of T20 World Cup selection meeting

Rohit had a couple of disappointing IPL seasons in 2022 and 2023, averaging just 19.14 and 20.75, respectively. However, he has looked in good touch this year and Indian cricket fans will want him to carry this form into the T20 World Cup 2024, which is scheduled to be held in June.