As Rohit Sharma has slumped to his worst Indian Premier League (IPL) starts since 2020, he has set bringing back the trophy to Mumbai as his immediate goal. Rohit, who has scored 0, 8 and 13 runs in three games in IPL 2025 for Mumbai Indians, says that a lot of things have changed from past when he was the MI skipper.
Notably, MI have won five IPL titles - 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020 - all under Rohit's captaincy but the team now is led by Hardik Pandya.
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"Since I started, things have obviously changed. I used to bat in the middle-order; now, I open the innings. I was the captain; now, I'm not. Some of my teammates from our championship-winning seasons are now in coaching roles. So, roles have changed, a lot has changed, but mindset remains the same. What I want to do for this team has not changed, and that is to go out there and win games and trophies. That is what Mumbai Indians is known for. Over the years, we have won trophies and turned games around from situations no one believed in. That is what MI and Mumbai are all about," Rohit said while talking on official broadcaster JioHotstar.
"Guys like Trent Boult, who have been here before, bring a lot of experience and understand MI's culture. Then we have Mitchell Santner, the New Zealand captain, who adds both experience and class. Players like Will Jacks and Reece Topley bring variety, while Ryan Rickelton is an exciting young prospect. Each of these players adds something different to the team, and when you bring that together as a collective unit, it makes a big impact. We also have several young Indian players with great potential, and I am looking forward to playing alongside them. My immediate goal is to win the TATA IPL trophy and bring the glory back to Mumbai Indians," he added.
In general, Rohit is going through a lean patch since the Tests matches against Bangladesh at home last year. He failed in New Zealand Tests after that and also the nightmarish Australia tour where he eventually dropped himself from the side.
In the Champions Trophy, he scored one fifty and that was in all important final but he was scratchy in rest of the tournament.
If Rohit doesn't find his groove quickly, the question of whether he should continue to play as a fixed member of Playing XI is bound to be asked sooner than later.