The way Rohit Sharma has begun the 2026 IPL season for the Mumbai Indians has thrilled former India captain Anil Kumble, who anticipates that the opener’s “2.0 avatar” would scare opponents throughout the tournament.
In Sunday’s match in Mumbai, MI defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets thanks to a brilliant 38-ball 78 from 38-year-old Rohit.
“Rohit Sharma seems to have arrived in his 2.0 avatar, and his innings showed he is ready to dominate again. The way he hit the ball all around the ground reminded me of his prime,” PTI quoted Kumble saying on Star Sports.
“It is not easy to hit sixes against bowlers like Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine and Blessing Muzarabani, but he made it look easy. He has worked a lot on his fitness, and when you come back after a short break, it takes five to seven days to get your timing back and find your rhythm.
“This was a fantastic innings…The six-hitting looked easy, and even though the boundaries were small, those shots were going into the stands. This knock shows that Rohit means business and this version of him will worry all IPL teams,” he added.
Due to injuries, KKR had to rely largely on spinners Narine and Chakravarthy to perform well, but neither of them performed well on Sunday.
“KKR are relying too much on Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, and Narine did not even complete his quota of four overs, which was surprising. The disappointing part was that Ajinkya Rahane did not bring him on in the Powerplay when Rohit and Rickelton were attacking,” he pointed out.
“By the time Narine came on, the damage was already done. Narine and Varun were the bowlers who could have challenged MI, but they did not bowl enough together. That is where KKR missed their chances to get back into the game. They need to use their resources better. Their fast-bowling unit looks inexperienced, but when you have two world class spinners, you need to use them well.”
