- By Namrata Vijay
- Tue, 07 Oct 2025 02:41 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
IND vs AUS: Rohit Sharma made a significant shift in mindset as he let the team to play freely and aggressively in T20Is and ODIs. After suffering a humiliating defeat by 10 wickets during the 2022 T20 World Cup, Rohit led the team from the front and motivated the batters to play aggressively while batting in the middle. When he was 36 years old, the team management supported him by adopting a risky approach of making him play as an opener.
This decision did work in their favour as they had become ruthless by not just matching the standards of the best teams but also setting a benchmark of how to bat in white-ball cricket. The team's stint during the 2023 ODI World Cup is proof of this strategic shift, where Rohit led the team from the front. He had scored 597 runs at a staggering average of more than 50 and at a strike rate of 125, which was the most for any batter that year.
The Men in Blue did fall short of winning the title, but their commitment to playing risky cricket did work in their favour in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy as well. The change in the approach helped to end their 11-year ICC trophy drought.
And since Rohit is not the captain anymore, and with the baton being passed to Shubman Gill, there will be questions as to whether he will bat at the same pace as he did at the end of his career. Will he still take those risks? Will the team management still back him? And if he performs inconsistently a few times, will he still be allowed to play risky shots as the team management plans for the 2027 World Cup?
Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa, in an interview with Good Areas Live podcast, revealed that Rohit might play more cautiously by finding a balance between aggression and shot-making.
"Rohit Sharma is someone who has upped the ante even in one-day cricket. Over the last 3-4 years, he has played at a much quicker clip, and I think that's been a transformation of sorts for him. Ideally, how he scored most of his runs in one-day cricket is: his first fifty took around 60-70 balls, the next fifty took much less, then the next fifty even less, and then the next fifty even less," Uthappa was quoted as saying on Good Areas Live Podcast.
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"The shift in the way he approaches one-day cricket has changed. I think he has probably found a sweet spot with that. There are times I feel he doesn't need to be so aggressive. I think he was leading from the front and he wanted to do that," he added.
"Now, he would probably be a little more circumspect because it would have been much more difficult to drop a captain versus now as a player. They have also said both these players will be picked on merit. So, I think they will be a little more cautious before being uber-aggressive," he said.
A HAPPY MEDIAN?
Uthappa, who has observed Rohit closely, talked about the 2023 World Cup summit clash and highlighted how important it is to spend time at the crease.
"I think he will find a happy median between. For example, in the World Cup final, when he got out, the previous delivery was a free hit or something. And the next ball, he still tried to take Maxwell down and was caught by Travis Head. At that point, I wished he hadn't played that shot. He already got a six in that over. It's 50 overs; you want a batter of Rohit's calibre to bat for as long as possible. When he bats 20 overs, he is a match-winner. He turns games on their head. I don't care if he doesn't bat beyond 20 overs. But he has to bat 20 overs," he concluded.