The talk swirls around when and where Rohit Sharma will be back among runs in IPL 2025. The India captain was in good nick in the Champions Trophy, but the transition from international cricket to franchise cricket hasn’t been smooth.
The former Mumbai Indian captain has only 82 runs in six matches at a strike-rate of 143.85 in this edition.
Speculation has been rife about his future plans. Will he lead the side during the Test tour of England which begins in June? Will he be travelling to England?
As the Mumbai Cricket Association unveiled Rohit as the face of their T20 league in Mumbai on Friday, Rohit chose to stay clear of such assumptions. He was more happy to bask in the glory of a stand being named after him at the Wankhede Stadium.
“...When you start playing the game, you don’t know how long you are going to play, let alone all these milestones and achievements that you achieve while playing the game,” Rohit said.
“But to get this kind of honour, having a stand named after you, is something that I cannot imagine. But once I see my name there on the stand, it will be a very emotional moment for me... Like I said, from not getting to enter the stadium (during his early days) and now to have a stand, those two moments, so much has happened between these two moments... I am forever grateful.”
Rohit, who rose from Mumbai’s maidans to become India’s World Cup-winning captain, perfectly embodies the city’s rich cricketing legacy.
He chose to take a trip down memory lane on his association with the stadium.
“No one dreams of things like these when they are just starting playing cricket. I still remember those days when I used to stand outside (the) Wankhede Stadium just to enter and watch the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team practice... I am talking about 2004 or maybe 2003.
“We used to finish our U-14, U-16 training at Azad Maidan. We used to travel across the railway tracks to go and just get a glimpse of some of the Ranji Trophy cricketers.
“I know how tough it was to get inside the Wankhede Stadium back then. Even now, obviously, no random (people) will be allowed inside the stadium. But those were the days I am just trying to remember now,” the India captain recalled.
