T20 World Cup 2026: Former captain Rohit Sharma picks THIS Mumbai Indians teammate as ‘big-match player’, says ‘whenever team in trouble…’
Former India captain Rohit Sharma is the brand ambassador of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 which gets underway in India and Sri Lanka on February 7. Rohit led India to the T20 World Cup 2024 title after a long wait of 17 years.
Rohit Sharma spoke on JioHotstar’s ‘Captain Rohit Sharma’s Roadmap for T20 World Cup’ and spoke about the emergence of Mumbai Indians teammate Tilak Varma, the importance of flexibility in the batting order and driving the change in approach during batting collapses in knockouts.
Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Captain Rohit Sharma’s Roadmap for T20 World Cup’, Rohit Sharma highlighted Tilak Varma’s eagerness to play in tough situations and praised his attitude.
“The first time Tilak Varma came into our Mumbai Indians setup, I could sense that there was something different about him. What attracted me was his constant conversation that came from a very innocent place, but it made a lot of sense. Whenever he spoke to me, he would just say, ‘I’ll do it. Please send me up the order, I’ll do the job.’ I’m talking about the 2022 and 2023 seasons, when I was captain.
“He has that mindset and attitude, which is superb, and he is mad about cricket. And most importantly, his temperament, that knock in the Asia Cup against Pakistan was unbelievable. So much pressure, wickets falling at the other end, so much noise in the stadium, a tournament final no less. I know it’s still early days, but he is showing that he is a big-match player. Whenever the team is in trouble, not just once, he has gotten them out of trouble a few times now,” Rohit said on JioHotstar.
ROHIT SHARMA TALKING ABOUT TILAK VARMA ️-
“Whenever he (Tilak Varma) spoke to me, he would simply say, “Send me up the order, I’ll do the job.”
I’m talking about the 2022 and 2023 seasons, when I was the captain. He has that mindset and attitude, which is outstanding, and he is… pic.twitter.com/PLzhYkGIEQ— ⁴⁵ (@rushiii_12) January 26, 2026
Tilak Varma, who is missing the five-match T20I series after getting operated due to abdominal issue, is set to make a comeback for the T20 World Cup 2026 and may join the squad on February 3. Varma has scored 1183 runs in 40 T20I matches at an average of 49.29 with a strike-rate of 144.09 with 2 centuries and 6 fifties.
Rohit Sharma calls for ‘flexibility’ in batting order
On the importance of flexibility in the batting order, former Mumbai Indians captain added, “When it comes to flexibility, people need to understand what it really means and how to use it properly. Out of the 11 players you play, you have eight or nine batting options. The two guys at the top will stay constant, since they are the openers. After that, you just need a little bit of flexibility in terms of making people understand that certain changes can happen in the batting order. But I have always believed there’s no need to disturb the top three.
“After that, who is coming on to bowl? If the batter going in next doesn’t have a good record against him, then let’s send another one who can take him down. That’s where the match-ups come in. I believe in match-ups. It’s not like during the match we make all these changes. Before the game, we used to sit and discuss these things with the players. Rahul bhai (Rahul Dravid) also loved discussing all this. We conveyed to the players the possibility of certain changes in the batting order, that ‘you have to be ready’. Nobody had any problems, because at the end of the day, you can’t come into Team India saying that you can only bat in one position, then it becomes a little difficult to manage,” Rohit said.
Rohit Sharma, who retired from T20I cricket after winning the World Cup in 2024, spoke about having the right intent while batting in knockout matches even after a collapse.
“I’ve always believed that I would only make changes in the batting order, when I genuinely felt it was necessary. We have not been winning finals or semi-finals, but the batters were doing the job. They were doing what had been asked of them. Yes, that little extra yard we needed to go, all of us needed to go, that wasn’t happening. And according to me, that little extra was the mindset. When you’re 20 for 3, what do you do? The batters in the middle, number five and six, what do they do in that situation? That was the only thing I had to change. It’s fine if 20 for 3 becomes 20 for 4. We were not able to get through with that rebuild philosophy. Get dismissed for 50, no problem, but we will play with the right intent. And once we find that right tempo, we will carry that tempo till the end of the game,” he added.