No longer the captain or the vice-captain at the Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma remains a leader that everyone banks on. As the Mumbai franchise looked to end its four-game losing run against the Gujarat Titans in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash on Monday, Rohit wasn’t even named among the Impact Players.
An injury might have prevented Rohit from performing with the bat on the field, but he hasn’t forgotten his role as an experienced player in the MI squad. In a video that has surfaced on social media, the former Mumbai Indians captain could be seen arriving on the field during what seemed like a break to exchange tips with Suryakumar Yadav, the team’s vice-captain.
As Hardik and Surya worked hard in the middle to strategise against Shubman Gill’s Gujarat, Rohit couldn’t resist sharing his insights and plans, despite not being part of the match-day squad. Seeing Rohit’s ‘captaincy moment’, fans were left in awe of his commitment.
As for the match, Tilak Varma played a knock for the ages; his maiden IPL century turned the corner for the Mumbai Indians, with the five-time champions crushing the Gujarat Titans by 99 runs. Spurred by skipper Hardik Pandya’s ‘hard talk’-asking him to get a move on during the strategic break after he had scratched his way to 19 off 22 balls-Tilak changed gears in a flash to amass 82 off his next 23 deliveries, finishing on an unbeaten 101 off 45 balls.
Mumbai Indians’ 199 for 5 was more than enough, as Jasprit Bumrah broke his five-match wicketless streak with a first-ball dismissal of Sai Sudharsan. GT never recovered, eventually being bowled out for 100 in 15.5 overs.
Before Monday’s innings, Tilak’s poor form had been a major talking point, as he had managed only 43 runs in his previous five outings. In total, he hit eight fours and seven sixes on the day, with several coming over the covers and others hit straight down the ground.