Former India captain Rohit Sharma has started to prepare for the IPL 2026 season. Some videos of him practicing at the Shivaji Park have gone viral on social media. The next season of the IPL is scheduled to begin on March 28 while the final will be held on May 31.
Earlier, Hardik Pandya had replaced Rohit as the captain of the franchise. Sharma had led MI to five IPL titles since he was appointed the captain mid-way through the 2013 season.
Hardik, who had made his IPL debut in 2013, had played 92 IPL matches for Mumbai Indians before moving to Gujarat Titans, leading the franchise in the 2022 and 2023 season. He led the side to the title in his first season as the captain of GT while the side finished as runners up in the next attempt.
Rohit Sharma practicing at Shivaji Park, Mumbai ahead of IPL 2026! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xxIJ0OP44k
— Rohit Sharma Fan (@hitmanfanfollow) March 7, 2026
“It is part of legacy building and staying true to the MI philosophy of being future-ready. Mumbai Indians have always been blessed with exceptional leadership right from Sachin to Harbhajan and Ricky to Rohit, who while contributing to the immediate success have always had an eye on strengthening the team for the future. It is in keeping with this philosophy that Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season, “Global Head of Performance, Mumbai Indians, Mahela Jayawardene had said then.
Rohit Sharma doing intense batting practice in Mumbai today ahead of the IPL. 🔥
bRO is very serious about the IPL this time.🐐 pic.twitter.com/xNlJK51VdM
— 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐢𝐢⁴⁵ (@rushiii_12) March 7, 2026
Mumbai Indians have built a strong squad with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav in the batting unit. Hardik Pandya and Mitchell Santner will have the responsibility of providing balance in the middle order while Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur are some of the prominent names in the bowling line up.
Rohit Sharma missed his first shot but hit a huge six on the next ball.😭🔥🫡 pic.twitter.com/nIPPmahOAS
— 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐢𝐢⁴⁵ (@rushiii_12) March 7, 2026
SQAUD: Shardul Thakur, Sherfane Rutherford, Mayank Markande, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Santner, Naman Dhir, Raghu Sharma, Raj Bawa, Robin Minz, Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult, Will Jacks, Quinton de Kock, Danish Malewar, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar, Atharva Ankolekar, Mayank Rawat
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