Ayush Mhatre, a 17-year-old batting prodigy from Mumbai, expressed his heartfelt sentiments towards his idol Rohit Sharma, who took his place in the Ranji Trophy playing XI for the match against Jammu and Kashmir. Mhatre commenced his first-class career with remarkable success, amassing 441 runs in six matches, boasting an impressive average of 40.09. Despite his early promise and consistency in domestic cricket, he had to step aside for Indian Test captain Rohit, who returned to the Ranji team in an effort to regain his form.

Mhatre was elated after the opportunity to share the dressing room with his idol, describing the experience as surreal.

"Having started my cricket journey by watching him bat on television, being able to share a dressing room with my idol was an incredible experience. There is much to learn from this," Mhatre conveyed on Instagram.

In the recent Ranji Trophy encounter against Services, Mhatre scored an impressive 116 runs, contributing significantly to Mumbai's substantial victory.

At just 17 years of age, he made his List A debut last year and has accumulated 458 runs to date, boasting an exceptional average of 65.42, which features two centuries and one half-century.

Conversely, Rohit faced a challenging red-ball season, experiencing difficulties in his performances against New Zealand at home and Australia during their tour.

Rohit Sharma flops on Ranji's return

Rohit Sharma made his return to domestic red-ball cricket with Mumbai after nearly a decade, but his initial performance was disappointing. In the opening hour of the Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir, the 37-year-old managed only 3 runs off 19 balls.

However, on Friday, Rohit significantly improved his performance, scoring a commendable 28 runs, marking his highest score in first-class cricket since he achieved 52 in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand last year.

It has indeed been a considerable period since Rohit last found success, as his recent scores against New Zealand and Australia were 0, 8, 18, 11, 3, 6, 3, and 9.

His innings featured moments of brilliance interspersed with some errors, yet he demonstrated glimpses of his former self, notably hitting two sixes over the heads of Jammu and Kashmir's bowlers. This performance suggests that the Indian Test and ODI captain may be on the path to regaining his lost form.

It will be intriguing to observe whether Rohit will participate in Mumbai's upcoming Ranji match against Meghalaya, which is set to commence on January 30.

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