“He’s still good enough to be part of the Indian T20I side”

Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Subramaniam Badrinath praised Rohit Sharma and believes the legendary captain can still be a part of the Indian T20I side ahead of IPL 2026. Badrinath also referred to the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) opening stand of Rohit and Quinton de Kock as a potentially intimidating one for opponents in the upcoming IPL.

The franchise signed the South African left-hander for only ₹1 crore in a bargain buy. De Kock played for MI from 2019 to 2021, helping them win the title in his first two seasons.

Talking about Rohit Sharma and his opening stand with De Kock, Badrinath said on his YouTube channel (3:05):

“He’s still good enough to be part of the Indian T20I side. His opening partnership with Quinton de Kock is scary. How did the other owners allow MI to buy De Kock? It’s an amazing buy for MI.”

Rohit retired from T20Is after leading India to the 2024 T20 World Cup title in the West Indies and the USA. He was also replaced as MI captain by Hardik Pandya ahead of the 2024 IPL season.

“I’ll keep Tilak Varma at No.3” – S Badrinath on MI’s batting order

Subramaniam Badrinath urged MI to play young left-hander Tilak Varma at No.3 despite his success in the lower middle-order for Team India in the 2026 T20 World Cup. The former CSK batter also advised the five-time champions not to tinker with Tilak, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya at No.3, 4, and 5.

“Tilak did very well for India at No.5 and 6 in the T20 World Cup. But if he continues there, who’ll come at No.3 for MI? It probably means Suryakumar Yadav has to bat at No.3, which leaves a question mark for No.4. That’s why I’ll keep Tilak Varma at No.3. Down the order, MI have plenty of options with Hardik Pandya, Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutherford, and Will Jacks,” said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).

He further elaborated:

“The Indian team made Tilak Varma bat lower down the order because of Rinku Singh’s absence. But for MI, I’ll have Tilak at 3, Surya at 4, and Hardik at 6. And I won’t disturb this order.”

Tilak floated up and down the MI batting order in last year’s IPL, resulting in an average of under 32 and a strike rate of 138.30 in 16 matches.

MI begin their IPL 2026 campaign against three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Mumbai on March 29.