Rohit Sharma credits his entire Mumbai Indians Squad for the third championship of the Indian Premier League.
Rohit Sharma has become the most decorated player in the IPL with this year’s triumph. He has 4 titles to his name – 3 with Mumbai Indians and 1 with Deccan Chargers. He surpasses the tie over Pragyan Ojha, who has 3 (Deccan Chargers -1, Mumbai Indians – 2).
When the season started, many were sceptical of the fact that Sharma did not open the innings for Mumbai. He came out at no. 4, a position which he hadn’t flourished much for MI. But that ploy worked well for Mumbai as the openers Jos Buttler and Parthiv Patel wreaked havoc at the start. Parthiv Patel went on to score 395 runs, the highest for any Mumbai batsman. Rohit’s demotion down the order gave a shot for a youngster to rise, Nitish Rana.
Nitish Rana, a young Delhi lad; shone on the big stage as he raced away to the orange cap in the initial matches. He played crucial knocks for MI as he scored three 50+ scores; and scored a total of 333 runs in the tournament. He was later dropped for inconsistency as Ambati Rayudu recovered from injury.
At the post final press conference, Rohit said, “When you play for India, it’s a different format and I don’t see why people compare the IPL with international cricket. My requirement here was in the middle-order, and that’s what we did. We realised at the start of the IPL that itas better for me to bat down the order to get that balance right.”
When asked about his patchy form ahead of the Champions trophy; Rohit answered he was “very happy” despite his worst batting showing in 10 years. He managed just 333 runs in 17 matches at an average of 23.78. He is the only player other than Suresh Raina; to score 300+ runs in all editions of the Indian Premier League.
Rohit was out of action since October 2016 after suffering a thigh injury which required surgery. He returned to action for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy domestic one-day tournament in March.
The Champions Trophy thus is a comeback for Rohit to the international arena. He feels the transition from IPL to the international arena will be smooth.
a?It has happened for 10 years — players going on to play Test cricket or 50-over games after IPL. I donat think itas going to be difficult to adapt in this age. All it needs is to develop the mindset,a? said Rohit, who has scored 5,131 runs in 153 ODIs.
While the IPL Governing Council hasnat set the guidelines for player retention for the next edition, Rohit Sharma would love to stay with Mumbai Indians rather than go into the mega auction. a?I would love to play for my state franchise. I have played all my cricket in Mumbai and lived here all my life. We would also be happy to retain the whole squad,a? he said.
