Rohit Sharma returned to form in the Indian Premier League as the Mumbai Indians veteran slammed an aggressive half century against the Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.
Team India’s captain smashed an unbeaten 76 (45) as MI ran out 9-wicket winners against an embattled CSK at the Wankhede Stadium on April 20.
Hitman, as he is fondly known, has credited Abhishek Nayar for his return to form and shared a two-word message of support to the latter on Instagram.
Border Gavaskar Trophy poor show
Sharma put up a story and captioned it “Thanks bro” and tagged Nayar, who had been recently sacked by the Board of Control of Cricket in India for team India’s poor show in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, earlier this year.
Nayar was with the Indian cricket team as an assistant coach for the last eight months and was recently let go by the BCCI on the back of India’s 3-1 loss in the Australia Test series.
According to a report in the Press Trust of India (PTI), Nayar’s dismissal was inevitable after BCCI roped in Sitanshu Kotak as an additional batting coach.
“…just after the tour of Australia, there was a review meeting conducted by the BCCI. The top officials of the board, including secretary Devajit Saikia and vice-president Rajeev Shukla, were present along with important members associated with the Indian team, and the national selectors,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI.
“On the sidelines of the meeting, a powerful member of the support staff expressed his apprehensions about Nayar’s presence and said how him being in the dressing room is proving to be counter-productive.
“While the BCCI didn’t act immediately but they brought in Kotak, the former Saurashtra run-accumulator. It was a way of side-lining Nayar during the Champions Trophy,” the source added.
Sharma’s supportive message is not accidental as the opener, who has been poor in IPL 2025, has apparently been working with Nayar leading up to the IPL until last week, according to a Cricbuzz report.
Nayar returns to the IPL
It didn’t take long for the 41-year-old to find work as Nayar was roped in by defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of their Monday encounter against the Gujarat Titans.
In fact, the game against GT, at the Eden Gardens, is Nayar’s first assignment with the defending champions.
Stay updated on all the action from the IPL 2025. Check the IPL 2025 Schedule, track the latest IPL 2025 Points Table, and follow the top performers with the Orange Cap and Purple Cap.