Indian cricket’s acclaimed off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has stepped away from international cricket and also ended his IPL playing chapter. These days, he stays closely connected to the game through expert work for broadcasters, while also sharing regular pre-match and post-match breakdowns on his YouTube channels. Ahead of the Lucknow Super Giants versus Mumbai Indians match in IPL 2026, the absence of Ashwin—who skipped the fixture—left some supporters feeling disappointed. The game, however, offered a major talking point of its own: Rohit Sharma returned to action after recovering from an injury and struck a brisk 84 off 44 balls.
During a light-hearted interaction online, Ashwin was asked about why he “ignored” Rohit’s innings despite the attention he usually gives to other batters. The query came in jest, pointing out that Ashwin often analyses the performances of RCB and Virat Kohli, but Rohit had delivered such a fine knock after time away. Ashwin responded with a playful admission, saying that a bit of a misunderstanding had happened. He then clarified that if there had truly been any conflict with someone, it wouldn’t be something he would keep to himself. In the same breath, he explained his routine—doing commentary for two straight days, travelling afterward, reaching home, and getting proper rest at night—before returning to the discussion.
When it came to evaluating Rohit’s batting, Ashwin praised the Mumbai Indians captain’s impact from ball one. He highlighted how Rohit struck Avesh Khan for a six over extra cover, placed the shot into a “loop” in his own mind, and insisted it was the kind of hit that deserves to be replayed again and again. Ashwin also noted that Rohit brought another boundary by taking Manimaran Siddharth for a six over the bowler. Still, he added a wider reflection on the tournament context, saying LSG and MI are not in a position to dwell on past narratives this season. “Mumbai have nothing to prove,” he felt, suggesting the focus should be on what the team can still improve from here. Even against Lucknow, he pointed out, MI had faced trouble during their bowling efforts, leaving the door open for them to do better moving forward.
Rohit and Ryan Rickelton set the tone as Mumbai Indians outplayed Lucknow Super Giants by six wickets in a high-scoring encounter on Monday. Rohit made the innings look effortless, striking 84 off 44 balls, and together with Rickelton they built a 143-run opening partnership—Rickelton contributing 83 off just 32 deliveries. The pair helped MI chase down Lucknow’s total of 228 for five, reaching the target in 18.4 overs. With the chase completed successfully, Mumbai recorded their third victory in 10 matches and climbed to six points.
Lucknow, meanwhile, continued to struggle for consistency. They remained anchored at the bottom of the standings, managing only four points from nine matches. With both outfits now sitting close to the edge of IPL 2026 playoff contention, the result underlined how little margin there is left in the race for qualification.
