Former India captain Rohit Sharma turned heads at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday night as the Indian national cricket team beat the England cricket team to book a berth in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final.
Rohit, who captained India to the T20 World Cup title in the United States and West Indies two years ago, was present at the venue as a special guest. Before the start of the semi-finals, he participated in the pre-match ceremony, presented the trophy and handed over the game ball. Before the game even started, however, his lively interactions with players and staff from both camps became the talk of the town.
The former captain first met with members of the Indian team and met Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Mohammed Siraj and India bowling coach Morne Morkel. He then walked to the England dugout, where he met former captain Eoin Morgan and head coach Brendan McCullum.
Both Morgan and McCullum were shocked by Rohit’s apparent physical changes. The former India captain has reportedly lost nearly 10 kilograms as part of his fitness regime and the change is evident when he appears on the field.
“In your life. What’s going on?” Morgan asked Rohit.
“Just relax,” Rohit replied.
McCullum, meanwhile, had a humorous reaction to watching the previous opener. “Where are the rest of you?” he said. Rohit smiled and replied, “It’s all over”.
Rohit also had a brief exchange with Suryakumar Yadav, which seemed to boost the batsman’s confidence ahead of the high-voltage clash. When Surya asked, “Do you think we can succeed?”, Rohit responded positively: “Yes, of course! We bowled well in the last match as well.” In another conversation, Rohit reassured bowling coach Moeen Morkel about the conditions of the match, telling him not to worry as the wind would remain consistent throughout the match.
The semi-final is the third consecutive T20 World Cup knockout match between India and England. England dominated the 2022 edition with a 10-wicket victory and India repaid England with the same two years later.
Thursday’s match once again saw tense moments, especially when Jacob Bethel threatened to take the game away from India with a powerful innings. However, the match ended up going in India’s favour, thanks to a stellar performance from Jasprit Bumrah, who conceded just 14 runs in the last two overs. “Where are the rest of you?”: Brandon McCallum running back.
