Why is Rohit Sharma a legend of IPL?
The joint most successful IPL captain with maximum number of man of the matches among Indian players.
Cricket fans have seen many legends gracing the IPL but a few of them have actually owned this tournament, Rohit Sharma is undoubtedly one of them. He has made impossible look possible countless times whether with his bat, ball or brain. His batting abilities with magical timing & intense power and sharpness in captaincy is second to none.
In this article, we will explore why Rohit Sharma is often regarded by many fans as one of the Greatest Player of all time in the Indian Premiere League.
Rohit Sharma Captaincy Record In IPL
In the 2009 IPL, after observing Rohit’s tactical sharpness and close involvement in the team, Adam Gilchrist decided to make him part of decision-making process and chose him the vice-captain of the team. This marks the beginning of the leadership saga of the one of the greatest captains.
Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy of Mumbai Indians mid-season in 2013 when his team was not in a good position. During the tournament he emerged as a true leader and led his team to its first title.
Mumbai Indians, having players like Sachin Tendulkar, Keiron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Herschelle Gibbs, Lasith Malinga in their side, were always a strong team on paper as well as on the ground but could not win the tournament between 2008 & 2012.
Rohit as a leader changed the contours of this team and led them to 5 IPL trophies which is equal to CSK & MS Dhoni; one of the finest captains Cricket has ever seen. Although Rohit took just took 158 matches, MS Dhoni needed 235 Matches to achieve this feat.
Out of the five trophies, Rohit won 3 times against MS Dhoni led CSK which add sparkle to the crown of Rohit, often regarded as Mumbai Cha Raja by Cricket lovers.
Rohit as a captain of MI not only brought glory for his franchise but also groomed players like Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Surya Kumar Yadav and Tilak Verma during their initial phase of the career. All of them are match winners for the country at the moment.
What makes Rohit captaincy different?
As Ricky Ponting says, a large part of captaincy is done off the field, Rohit is seen doing the same thing with his players. He spends a lot of time with the teammates in other side of the field. His doors are always open for the players to ask for any help and suggestions. Clarity of thoughts is very important to bring best from the players. Rohit makes everyone clear what team wants from them and also guides them how they can improve as Kuldeep Yadav has mentioned it many times in the podcast.
He backs his players and often known as bowler’s captain because of deep sympathy for bowlers. Rohit Sharma backed Malinga in final over against CSK in 2019 even when he was not economical in that match and suggested Malinga to bowl slower delivery on the pad to Shardul Thakur as he swings bat too fast, it can go four if he bowls yorker. Mumbai won that match by only 1 run and Shardul Thakur got LBW. This match clearly shows how tactically sound and prepared Rohit Sharma the captain is. After winning T20 World Cup 2024, Bumrah praised Rohit captaincy saying he trusts Rohit leadership so much that he used to say Rohit to set the field for him and tell him which ball he should bowl.
Rohit Sharma Batting Performance in IPL
After a match winning knock against South Africa and Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2007, Rohit became a sensation in Indian cricket. In the inaugural season of IPL 2008, Deccan Chargers bought him for whopping amount of INR 3 crores (US $750,000) which was much more than other youngsters like Virat Kohli who got only 12 lakhs from RCB.
Rohit, playing in the top middle order, justified his price and scored 404 runs in 12 innings with a strike rate of 147.98 and an average of 36.72.
In 2009 IPL, Deccan Chargers retained him and appointed him the vice-captain of the team. He scored 362 runs and also took 11 wickets with a hat-trick against Mumbai Indians. He won Emerging Player of the year, then known as best under-23 success of the tournament, for his remarkable performance. Deccan Chargers didn’t regret retaining Rohit Sharma for 3 Crores and won their first IPL trophy in 2009.
In 2009 season, Rohit produced a thrilling finish against KKR when 21 runs were required in the last over. He charged against the bowler Mashrafe Mortaza and scored 26 runs in the over winning man of the match for this power packed performance.
Rohit continued giving strong performance for Deccan Chargers but in 2011 auction, Mumbai Indians bought him for a huge amount of 9.2 crores and as cricket lovers say, “rest is history”.
In 2013 IPL, Rohit became highest run getter for MI scoring 538 runs in 19 innings leading them to 1st title win. Again, in IPL 2015, Rohit was second highest run getter for MI and scored 50 of 26 in big final against CSK winning man of the match.
Rohit continued playing match winning knocks for MI which includes 68 runs in IPL FINAL 2020 against Delhi Capitals. He is 46 times top scorer for MI followed by Surya Kumar Yadav (29 times).
In IPL as of 2025, Rohit has scored 7046 runs in 272 innings which makes him the 2nd highest run getter in the tournament, left behind by only Virat Kohli. Despite having less runs, he has won more number of man of the matches than Virat Kohli(19) which shows the impact of his knocks. Overall, Rohit has won 21 man of the matches which is the highest among the Indian players. Rohit is left behind by Chris Gayle(22) and AB de Villiers(25).