While the IPL 2026 is less than two weeks away from beginning, every team is setting up their best possible playing XIs. Talking about the fate of the Mumbai Indians, the head coach clarified the former MI captain Rohit Sharma's position in the team for the new season. 

Rohit Sharma has recorded five IPL trophies as a captain, who is now playing as the senior-most player of the team. Last season (IPL 2025), Rohit also played as an Impact Sub, which is a very unusual system in the IPL for a senior-most regular player. 

Now, the MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene has confidently announced that the former MI captain Rohit Sharma will mostly play as a regular player. Last year, they used him as the Impact player to manage his niggles. 

Jayawardene said, “Rohit the way we managed him last year. He had a few niggles, so we just needed to manage that. The thing is he’s still making a huge impact on the team whether he’s on the field or not. But, definitely, this year, I want to keep him more on the field as much as I can."

Coach explains selection dilemma as Rohit and Surya remain MI's only non-all-rounders

Meanwhile, the former Sri Lankan captain also pointed out that the impact player's decision isn't straightforward for them due to most of the top regular players' all-round abilities. 

Jayawardene added, "But the thing is when we are rotating the bowlers or the impact player, at which point that impact player is coming and if all other players need to be on the field at that time [needs to be considered]."

“If you look at it, most of our guys are all-rounders, and they do bowl as well. So if the captain needs that option on the field, it’s something that I have to look at and discuss depending on the opposition that we’re playing. The two guys who are not all-rounders at the moment are Rohit and Surya (Suryakumar Yadav). So, can you help me with that decision-making process?" 

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Will the "Hitman" spend time on the bench to maintain team balance this season?

Rohit Sharma is the second-leading run-scorer in IPL history with 7046 runs. Last season, the former MI captain scored 418 runs, including four half-centuries. Although he had the disappointing starts early in that season, later the opener played some crucial knocks with the bat. 

In the last two seasons, Rohit scored 400+ runs each of the season, while maintaining a strike rate of almost 150 in both seasons. So, there is no doubt that the Hitman will be the most important member for the MI in the IPL 2026, as we are not expecting him on the bench most of the IPL 2026, unless the 38-year-old suffers any injuries.