Rohit Sharma’s hamstring finally allowed him back onto an IPL field on Monday evening and, for 44 balls, he reminded everyone why Mumbai Indians have rarely had to worry about their opening slot. His 84, littered with seven cleanly-struck sixes, powered a 143-run stand with Ryan Rickelton that briefly made Lucknow Super Giants’ bowlers look bereft of ideas.
“Good to see him striking the ball so well and going through the line, playing those shots over the covers and even against spin. I think he’s just made up his mind to get into that habit of hitting those sixes, which he has done quite well, and it was on full display tonight,” Sanjay Bangar observed on the TimeOut show, moments after the partnership ended.
Key facts first. MI still sit ninth, with three wins from nine and a net run-rate that refuses to budge into the black. They have, however, claimed two of those victories in games where Rohit has gone past fifty. His absence between 12 April and 4 May coincided with four defeats and a carousel of overseas combinations that never quite fitted.
During those five matches MI used four different opening pairs, none of which included both senior overseas keepers, Rickelton and Quinton de Kock. “They were not able to play Quinton and Rickelton together because they needed an extra bowler when it comes to overseas players, because your Indian bowlers were not doing well,” Veda Krishnamurthy explained. “Deepak Chahar was not looking at his best, so they needed Trent Boult, but Trent Boult didn’t deliver as well. So the experience at the top is very important.”
Without Rohit, the top order lost its Indian anchor and MI’s balance tilted. De Kock opened three times; Rickelton only once in that same stretch. Danish Malewar, bright but raw, filled the other games. “Your openers need to be good and the openers that they tried, it was either Rickelton or Quinton de Kock opening with Danish Malewar. That kind of hurts because you talk about like-to-like replacements – you do not have an opener, an experienced opener, an Indian opener like Rohit,” Krishnamurthy added.
The statistics back her up. In the 18 IPL seasons before this one, Rohit failed to reach 350 runs only five times. Even after shifting to a more belligerent approach – 417 runs in 2024 and 418 in 2025 – he kept scoring at tempo. Remove that from a batting order already carrying a fragile middle and things unravel quickly.
There is also a wider trend at play. “Teams from here on will look at openers who can hit sixes inside the first six overs and that’s where the T20 game is heading,” Bangar said. “In this particular season, and even in the previous season, you’ve got enough evidence of that style of batsmanship actually setting up wins for the team and those have been far more impactful rather than those coming at the lower end of the innings. That is a paradigm shift.” Rohit’s willingness, at 39, to recalibrate his game is evidence of that shift; MI need the rest of their line-up to follow.
Yet expecting one player to plaster over every crack is unrealistic. MI’s Indian seamers have combined economy rates north of nine and wicket-taking has been sporadic. The extra overseas bowling slot, often occupied by Boult, has curtailed middle-order firepower. Tilak Varma and Tim David have not strung together form; a batting depth that once defined MI now feels conditional on Rohit and one other top-order success.
So, what next? MI have five group games left. They probably need to win four, maybe all five, to trouble the top four. Three of those fixtures are on truer pitches in Mumbai and Hyderabad, which might ease the bowling conundrum but also challenge any frailty against spin. The equation is straightforward, the execution less so.
Rohit will not view himself as saviour, but his presence clearly steadies selection and strategy. It frees up one overseas slot for either an all-rounder or an additional quick, and it allows Rickelton or de Kock to play without carrying the entire power-play burden. Whether that freedom translates into the consistency MI have lacked is the real question.
For now, MI’s season is still alive – just. Their captain returned, swung hard, cleared the ropes, and reminded fans what an uncomplicated, forceful T20 start looks like. The points table offers no sentiment, though. Late revivals are measured in wins, not aesthetics. MI have work to do, and very little margin left for off days.
