Gujarat Titans’ Mohit Sharma during press conference ahead of their Punjab Kings Cricket Match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on March 31, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Vijay Soneji

From 2019 to 2021, Mohit Sharma played a grand total of two IPL games. In 2022, he travelled as a net bowler for Gujarat Titans.

For someone who held the Purple Cap in 2014 for Chennai Super Kings (23 wickets) and played two World Cups for India (2014 T20 & 2015 ODI), it would have been a tough experience.

But he showed his true worth last season when he claimed 27 wickets as GT nearly defended the IPL title it won in its inaugural year in 2022. And the 35-year-old has carried that form into this season — six wickets from three matches at an economy rate of 7.75.

On Wednesday, ahead of the game against Punjab Kings, Mohit credited the atmosphere at GT for helping him stay motivated.

“It depends on how your fellow players see you after a bad performance,” Mohit said. “That decides whether you feel good or bad. In this team, over the last three years, if you have a bad performance, we don’t talk about it. The rectification happens on the ground, not in the dressing room. That maintains confidence levels.”

In that nerve-wracking 2023 final against CSK, Mohit almost defended 13 runs before conceding a six and a four off the last two deliveries. It left him heart-broken but there were learnings too.

“Not just that last over, I learnt a lot throughout the IPL last year,” he said. “If you talk about just those two deliveries, I can say this — when you are under pressure, your subconscious mind dominates. That shouldn’t happen and you have to follow your instinct. I learnt that aspect from those two balls.”