Rohit Sharma Has His Eye On The Prize
GQ India|April 2019

Rohit Sharma’s not letting 2018’s performance keep the Mumbai Indians down – even as he admits this IPL could be anyone’s.

Vritti Rashi Goel & Abhishek Nair
Rohit Sharma Has His Eye On The Prize

Rohit Sharma is ready for a busy season. Leading one of the most successful teams in the Indian Premier League, he doesn’t like that he has to share the top spot with Chennai Super Kings (who are tied with the Mumbai Indians for the most IPL trophies). He also isn’t too bothered about it, because the Mumbai camp’s in full swing, and Sharma believes his team’s prepared to go all the way: “Any year we don’t qualify is an unsuccessful year for us. We need to try and change that this year.” And with the ICC World Cup right around the corner, he’s even more focused and raring to go for what will be one of the most crucial summers of his career.

How excited are you for the IPL?

The IPL’s always been like a festival. People in India enjoy it, they go crazy. And now, I see the culture of the Premier League coming to India – not right at this moment, but in the next five to ten years, it’ll get there. I’m not talking about the fights, but the passion that we see in a Liverpool versus Manchester United game, or the El Clasico. It’s the same when Mumbai and Chennai play. And it’s not restricted to the fans. Ask any foreign player what they think about the IPL. They go crazy too! They go out of their way and do so many things to impress the fans here, because they love them, and they know that all these people love them and the teams too.

Which newcomers are you most excited about?

This story is from the April 2019 edition of GQ India.

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This story is from the April 2019 edition of GQ India.

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