Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar observed a shift in Rohit Sharma’s attitude to one-day international cricket following his match-winning 76 in the 2025 Champions Trophy Final against New Zealand at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, March 2.
The Indian captain had the added task of staying at one end in the middle overs after his characteristic early onslaught in the first powerplay. As anticipated, Rohit Sharma faced most of the balls during the fielding restrictions as he chased 252 for the title. He continued with a more restrained style after a blazing start, making it a point to stay and leave as little for the middle order.
India took control of the run chase with the 105-run opening stand between The Hitman and Shubman Gill. The removal of Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill by New Zealand left the captainship at the crease as the best course of action.
The tactical change would impact Rohit Sharma’s ability to demonstrate extended batting performance according to Sanjay Manjrekar.
“Four years back, Rohit Sharma would have looked to play the big shots. But, in between all that, there would be that willing, to pick up singles, rotating strike, and then taking on the spinners, and after 100, he would just take off. But that game is clearly out of his system now,” Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo.
Sanjay Manjrekar
“So, what you get with Rohit Sharma if he continues playing 50-overs cricket is the first 10 overs with the bat, and later on staying long enough to take on the spinners. But, whether he will be able to compile the big scores by picking up ones and twos, and also playing the big shots, I think that is out of his system,” he added.
Sanjay Manjrekar
The middle overs became troublesome for Rohit Sharma as he lost his wicket to a stumping play after Rachin Ravindra put down his stumps in the 27th over. The match official named Rohit Sharma winner of Player of the Match in the final tournament after his 83-ball 76-run performance with three maximums and seven boundaries.
“It’s obviously not natural to me but it is something I really wanted to do” – Rohit Sharma
The opening batsman has made it a point to follow the ultra-aggressive model during his time as captain, and India has benefited from this strategy in white-ball cricket. Taking full advantage of the fielding limitations, Rohit’s actions during the first powerplay created a strong foundation for the middle-order to build upon.
“It’s obviously not natural to me but it is something I really wanted to do and when you’re trying to do something different you need the backing of the team and the management. They were right through with me. In the ODI World Cup as well with Rahul (Dravid) bhai, this is what I spoke to him and he was very much okay with it and now Gauti bhai as well,” Rohit Sharma said during the post-match presentation.
Rohit Sharma
“It was all about getting that backing and it was something I really wanted to do. I’ve played all these years in a different style but I wanted to try and see if we could play differently and get the results we were looking for,” he added.
Rohit Sharma
During the 2025 Champions Trophy season, Rohit Sharma amassed 180 runs at a strike rate of 100 in five games.
