Rohit Sharma turned back the clock at the Wankhede on Sunday night. Some of the shots he played were breathtaking, while the pull shots were trademark Rohit. His first six, for example – the perfect swivel and the sweet connection. It brought the entire Wankhede to its feet and announced the arrival of a ‘Hitman’ storm.
I will attribute much of Rohit’s batting to his mental state. Over the last few years, he has been grappling with multiple things during the IPL. In 2024, he was captain of India and had the T20 World Cup on his mind. He went on to win it and make history. In 2025, he had the Test cricket retirement call to consider, and he decided to give up red-ball cricket in May 2025, halfway through the IPL.
First, Indian captaincy can weigh anyone down. Things weren’t going well for Rohit the batter, and ahead of the 2024 World T20, he was under immense pressure. In 2025, what happened in Australia, in Sydney during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, was still very real.
Rohit is now a more relaxed individual. There is a calm about him, which is clearly helping his batting. “Sukoon se training kar raha hoon [I’m training in peace],” he had said to me earlier this month in Mumbai. “Koi disturbance nahi hai [There is no disturbance]. Last few years as India captain, there would be something every day. More when you are an all-format captain. Now I come here (referring to the MCA Club in BKC) and train in peace.”
As he was speaking, one could sense a kind of calm in the man. And when you match that calm with the intensity in training, you realise that he is focused on the 2027 World Cup. The weight loss, the newfound fitness regimen, the level of focus, and finally the shot-making we have seen at the Wankhede – all are evidence that Rohit has his eye on the trophy he is missing.
Take the shot against Varun Chakaravarty. Varun is India’s go-to bowler in T20 cricket, and Rohit was just effortless. The ball was pitched up, and Rohit had already anticipated it. He was on to the pitch of the ball in a flash and lifted it over mid-off for a fantastic six. The shot was all class. The stillness of the head and the timing were picture-perfect, and that one shot was evidence of Rohit’s form. An uncluttered mind and a fitter body are helping him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Rohit plays many match-winning innings for Mumbai Indians (MI) this season.
In the first two days of the IPL, we have seen two of India’s best stand up and deliver. While Virat Kolhi produced a masterclass on how to steer a chase and allow the younger players to be the aggressors, Rohit was all about being aggressive while not giving up on class. On both days, the fans simply loved watching these two legends bat, and cricket seemed a little more beautiful than it normally is. With the war and the negativity surrounding it impacting our mental space all day, we needed Rohit and Kohli to light up the evenings.
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