'Dream come true' – Sikkim captain on sharing the field with Rohit Sharma in VHT match

Rohit Sharma ended up as the best batter of the game, scoring an unbeaten 155 and bagging the 'player of the match' award.

Rohit Sharma playing the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) has bigger implications than people realise. It’s not just about the former India captain remaining match fit. Or about the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) setting an example. There’s something much bigger at play.

As one of the two biggest cricket players in the world, Rohit inspires many. His own Mumbai teammates like Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge and Angkrish Raghuvanshi will learn quite a bit from him. To share the dressing room with your hero is quite something.

The Rohit Sharma effect

But the same goes for opponents. Mumbai was facing Sikkim at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. It was only in 2018 when the BCCI introduced the Sikkim team. They have yet to win a match in any domestic cricket. For their team to share the field with Rohit means quite a lot. Sikkim captain Leyong Lepcha talked about what it felt like playing against the 38-year-old.

“It was a great experience. We played pretty well while batting first. And it was a great experience to watch this great man from this close up. I guess he was waiting for the loose balls. During the course of the game, I thought he respected the good balls, and he capitalised on the loose balls. The scoring rate and the strike rate is very high when all these international players play. It was a treat watching him from so close, and it was an honour,” Lepcha said to PTI after the match.

Sikkim didn’t just go down like a pack of cards. They batted the entire first innings and put Mumbai in with a 237-run chase. Rohit came out to open and pretty much won the match on his own. His 155 (94)* stunned Sikkim and the crowd. But the opposition didn’t care about the loss. Instead, they rejoiced that they played with a legend of the game.

“Well, absolutely. To be in the same ground and playing the same match with a World Cup-winning captain. It is a dream come true for all the guys in Sikkim. Didn’t get a chance to speak to him because he’s always surrounded by security. As you know, he’s a very big player, so I hope we get a chance to meet him after the match. I had a few chit-chats with him when he was batting,” he added.