Amidst the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026, a big update has emerged regarding the Indian Premier League (IPL), especially regarding the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians (MI). Latest media claims suggest that Rohit Sharma has issued a warning to the franchises ahead of the IPL 2026 season.
After the conclusion of the 2026 T20 World Cup, most of the Indian cricketers will be preparing for the upcoming edition of the IPL. Rohit Sharma is ready to play for Mumbai Indians once again. But what role will the former captain play in this season?
Rohit Sharma remains an important part of the team
After the setback in IPL 2025, the five-time IPL winners revamped their team with some new members, and kept some key members as the nucleus of the team. Rohit Sharma is among the players who were retained by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction.
Sharma, the former captain under whose leadership the Mumbai-based franchise won the IPL trophy five times, making them one of the best in the history of the league, played mainly as an impact player last season.
Last season for Mumbai Indians was challenging from the start due to their inconsistency during the early stages of the tournament. However they managed to reach the playoffs, where they defeated Punjab Kings before being eliminated from the competition.
Rohit Sharma does not want to play as an impact player: Report
According to the latest report by SportsYari, Sharma has issued a warning to the MI franchise before the new IPL season. He wanted to play as a full-time player, not as an impact player. In the previous season, the opener was mostly used as an impact player due to his proven batting reliability as an opening batsman, but he was replaced as soon as the team went to bowl. If reports are to be believed, the Mumbaikar wants to contribute like a regular player.
As soon as the reports came out, Sharma’s possible decision started being compared to other legends of Team India like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, who played as regular players and not as impact players.
If the MI team management approves Sharma’s proposal, he will be on the field with current Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya. Will the pairing of current captain and former captain prove beneficial for Mumbai Indians in the near future? A section of Indian cricket fans started speculating on various aspects.
‘Hitman’s batting stats in IPL 2025.’
In the 2025 Indian Premier League, the veteran opening batsman scored a total of 418 runs in 15 innings at a batting average of 29.85. His total runs included four half-centuries. In this season, the right-handed batsman hit forty-one fours and twenty-two sixes.
Meanwhile, his opening partner, South African international Ryan Rickelton scored 388 runs in 14 innings.
| rohit sharma stats | |||||||||||||
| Season | Team | mat | Inn | No | it goes | HS | Avenue | BF | sr | 100s | 50’s | 4s | 6s |
| ipl 2025 | MI | 15 | 15 | 1 | 418 | 81 | 29.85 | 280 | 149.28 | 0 | 4 | 41 | 22 |
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