Irfan Pathan wants Rohit Sharma to replicate his 2023 World Cup form in IPL 2024

Former India speedster Irfan Pathan expects Rohit Sharma to have the same belligerent approach in IPL 2024 that he had in the 2023 ODI World Cup. However, the Mumbai Indians (MI) traded in Hardik Pandya from the Gujarat Titans (GT) before the IPL 2024 auction and named him as their captain for the upcoming edition of the cash-rich league, replacing Rohit, who led them to five IPL titles as well.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Pathan said: “Did he not have the captaincy restrictions in the 50-over World Cup? They were there and he played with an amazing strike rate. I think having the captaincy or not won’t make a difference. The approach he has changed for the last little while will make the difference. I feel he will continue that template.”

The former India all-rounder again shared: “It took him close to one to one-and-a-half years to get that template. Earlier, Rohit Sharma used to take his time for the first two or three overs and then used to run fast. In the last two years, he took the responsibility and said that he would run fast from the first over and he has started getting the results of that now.”

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Rohit Sharma scored 597 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 125.94 in 11 games in the 2023 World Cup. He also finished as the tournament’s second-highest run-getter, behind only Virat Kohli, who scored 765 runs in as many games at a strike rate of 90.31 as well. Irfan Pathan also claimed Rohit Sharma does not run after captaincy and his only intention is to play well for however long he plays.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has faced a lean patch with the bat in the last two seasons of the IPL, averaging 19.14 and 20.75 in 2022 and 2023 respectively as well. And, he will want to turn the table for himself in IPL 2024, especially if he harbours hopes of representing India in the T20 World Cup later this year as well.

“Rohit Sharma is not a character who wants captaincy. These things do not matter too much to him. He lost the first Test match here (in South Africa) as captain. A day later, two youngsters didn’t go for practice, but Rohit Sharma went,” Irfan Pathan concluded. “He is extremely focused. He is saying that for as many years he will play cricket, whether it’s for India or the Mumbai Indians, he wants to finish by playing good cricket at the top level. It could be two or three years. His fans will want him to play forever, but that’s not the reality.”