[Watch] Rohit Sharma wins dressing room honors for sensational knock in MI-LSG IPL 2024 clash
Former Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma won the dressing room batting award for his knock of 68 from 38 deliveries against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Friday, May 17. Chasing a massive 215 for victory in their league-stage finale, MI got off to a sparkling start of 88/0 in nine overs, thanks to Rohit's brilliance.
However, his dismissal sparked an MI collapse that saw them falter the rest of the way to finish at 196/6 and lose by 18 runs. Nevertheless, Rohit's vigil included 10 boundaries and three maximums, much to the delight of the massive crowd at the Wankhede Stadium.
After the game, MI head coach Mark Boucher acknowledged Rohit's brilliant batting display. The veteran Indian cricketer was given a special badge by MI owner Nita Ambani.
Here is a video of the same:
Rohit finished the campaign with 417 runs at an average of 32.07 and a strike rate of 150 in 14 outings. He enjoyed only two 50+ scores during the season as MI finished at the bottom of the points table with four wins and 10 losses in 14 matches.
"He is the master of his own destiny" - Mark Boucher on Rohit Sharma
MI head coach Mark Boucher answered the lingering questions on Rohit Sharma's future by saying the champion batter will decide in the coming months at his discretion.
Rohit was replaced by Hardik Pandya as MI captain, leading many to believe that the former could move to another franchise ahead of IPL 2025.
Addressing Rohit's future after MI's last league-stage match against LSG, Boucher said in the post-match press conference:
"To be honest, there hasn't been many conversations about Rohit's future. I spoke to him last night or the night before, just to do basically a little review of the season. And I said, 'What's next for Rohit Sharma?' and he said to me 'World Cup'. And that's perfect."
"That's all I need to know about what Rohit Sharma's future is. For me, he is the master of his own destiny. It's a big auction next season, who knows what's going to happen? We'll just have to take each day as it comes."
With the Mega Auction expected to take place at the end of this year, it will be interesting to see if Rohit remains with MI or moves to another franchise. He led Mumbai to five IPL titles since becoming the captain in mid-2013, including a back-to-back run in 2019 and 2020.