'Whenever MI won IPL, nobody in our team won Orange Cap': Rohit Sharma says 600 runs 'don't matter' in trophyless season

Rohit Sharma's batting approach has often being a topic of discussion, whether he plays for India or the Mumbai Indians. In a recent interview with journalist Vimal Kumar, Rohit was asked yet again about his aggressive approach to the game, and the former MI skipper made it clear that his primary focus has always been on winning matches and tournaments, not racking up huge run totals.

He acknowledged that a season with 600-700 runs means little if the team fails to secure a title.

Rohit stated that the 2019 ODI World Cup in England, where he smashed five centuries and a fifty, caused the shift in mindset. India lost in the semi-finals of the tournament to New Zealand.

“My target has never been to score a certain number of runs in a season," he stated.

"I want to win matches and for that, I have always given my best. It doesn’t matter if you score 600-700 runs and aren’t winning a trophy. It (The runs) won’t matter.”

Rohit mentioned how his focus has always been on contributing to the team's win rather than chasing personal feats.

“I have learned my lessons during 2019 World Cup itself. If you aren’t able to reach final and win trophy then what will I do with those 500-600 runs? It might be good for me but not for the team," he said, driving home the point that winning as a unit always comes first.

Rohit also drew a parallel to Mumbai Indians’ IPL triumphs, pointing out that despite MI's dominance in the tournament, no player from their squad has won the Orange Cap during their title-winning campaigns. "Whenever MI has won a trophy, nobody from our team has won the Orange Cap. There’s a reason behind that," said Rohit.

“But I am not claiming that my 30 runs are helping the team to win. My focus is on making contributions that benefit the team,” he emphasised.

Rohit as a batter

Even as Rohit is not the MI captain anymore, the opener's mindset remains unchanged. “Nothing has changed, everything is same," he said. "My job is batting. Even when I was captaining, my first role was that of a batter and then captain. As a batter, I have to win matches. Now that I am not the captain, my job is to score runs and win matches for the team."

Rohit remains committed to ensuring Mumbai Indians bounce back from a few lacklustre seasons, stating that the team is in a “very good stage” and believes the current season will bring better results.