Mumbai cha Raja, Rohit Sharma! Mumbai cha Raja Rohit Sharma!

For the next two months in the Mumbai summer, these chants are going to reverberate around the Wankhede, loudly. Very loudly. Rohit Sharma, since the last IPL, has ended India’s 13-year-long wait for an ICC title with back-to-back trophies in the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy. Here he is, in a heart-warming chat with MITV, opening up into his mind.

“It started literally way back in 2022 when we played that World Cup in Australia,” he said of the planning. “Although we didn't qualify for the final, we lost in the semis, we made it very clear with the players, like 'this is what we expect from you' and 'this is how we want you to play'. So there was a lot of clarity, a lot of conversations with the players. To perform, there needs to be a lot of freedom within the group so that they can go and play without fear,” he added.

Not only did India win, India became the first team in nine editions of the T20 World Cup to lift the title without losing a single game in the tournament. They extended their winning streak into the Champions Trophy as well, winning all five games along with the title, which meant they’d lost just the one game in the last three ICC events, including the 2023 World Cup. It’s a record Rohit is extremely proud of.

“Imagine if we had won the final (2023 World Cup), to go undefeated in three ICC tournaments is crazy. But I will take this. Winning 23 games in 24 games is unheard of. 23 wins in 24 games looks very nice from the outside but the team has gone through a lot of ups and downs. We had some really tough times as well. But when you do things like this, you've got to celebrate and you deserve everything that is there. So I feel that all the people who played these three tournaments deserve respect,” he said.

A disappointing IPL 2024 season, the highs of the two ICC events, punctured by a Test series loss at home against New Zealand and then the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, the last year has been a proper roller-coaster. But Rohit has the best mantra.

“It's for any sportsman when they are going through something and there is a low, they want to fight back, bounce back and try and make whatever is in front of you into a high. Thereafter, we had a bit of a low where we lost a home series and we didn't play well in Australia. And then came the Champions Trophy. These nine months were a perfect example of how life is. It is always going to be up and down. My career for 17-18 years has always been up and down, which has taught me so many things in life. These nine months were no different,” he said.

There’s an old video of Rohit from the Mumbai Indians dressing room where he addresses the team after a defeat.

“Whether we win, whether we lose, we have to smile.”

It’s a philosophy he swears by.

“It is a very simple line, but it means a lot. Whatever happens, at the end of the day, you have to find a way to smile, be happy and find peace with it. That is why, at MI, when we speak about this as players, as a team, we always talk about finding a way to move on, whether we win or we lose. Moving on from a loss, from a low is not easy. How you motivate yourself at that time, how you cheer yourself up, how you bring a smile to your face is important, because life doesn't end here. After a low, the sun will rise again the next day. You will have to wake up again and find a way to fight the day. If you can find a way to forget that moment and smile, nothing like it.”

What next then? We’ve seen how the Hitman ticks off boxes. What’s the next one in his eyeline?

“My immediate goal is obviously to try and bring the glory back to MI, win the trophy here. But we do understand it takes a lot of hard work. It needs a lot of things to click together. That is the challenge of the IPL. To win 17 games, is like half the T20 season, but you play that in two months. So that is a challenge. There's a lot of boxes which you need to tick and then get to the trophy.”

That’s right. Our man knows how to win and win again. As we gun for title #6, our Mumbai cha Raja has his eyes on the target. And Paltan, we know those eyes mean business.