In a battle to stay alive in the IPL 2026 season, the Mumbai Indians put on a show to remember. Chasing 229 at the Wankhede Stadium, Rohit Sharma, back in action, showed a glimpse of his vintage best with a 44-ball 84, while Ryan Rickelton continued his sublime form with an 83 off just 32. The duo powered Mumbai to victory in 18.4 overs, securing only their third win of the season.
Raghu Sharma also delivered a notable performance with the ball, picking up his maiden IPL wicket with the dismissal of Akshat Raghuwanshi. It came on the first ball of the 13th over, when the batter shimmied down the track, almost premeditatively, but was beaten in the flight as the ball drifted in. He looked to push it away, but it hit the pad, took an inside edge and lobbed back to the bowler, who completed a simple catch.
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It was a huge moment for the debutant, and he instantly pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket—reminiscent of Dinesh Ramdin—sparking curiosity among Mumbai Indians teammates. He unfolded the paper and showed it towards the dugout, leaving stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah puzzled.
The IPL broadcaster later revealed the text written on the paper, and it was unlike Ramdin’s 2012 message, for which he was fined 20 per cent of his match fees by the ICC. This note simply expressed gratitude, encapsulating 15 years of hard work to reach this stage.
The note read: “Radhe Radhe. A very painful 15 years, by divine mercy of Gurudeva, ended today. Thanks, Mumbai Indians (Blue and Gold), for giving me this opportunity. Ever grateful. Jai Shri Ram.”
Who is Raghu Sharma?
In 2025, the left-arm leg-spinner served as a net bowler for Mumbai Indians and was signed midway through the season as an injury replacement for Vignesh Puthur. Despite not getting a game last year, he was retained. It was earlier this season, against Chennai Super Kings, that he made his debut.
Coming from a family of engineers and doctors, Raghu, who hails from Jalandhar, was set to become an electrical engineer. But India’s 2011 World Cup win changed his path.
He started off as a fast bowler until, at the behest of legendary Madan Lal—then a coach at the Jalandhar District Cricket Association—he switched to leg-spin. That, in turn, introduced him to Shane Warne, albeit via the internet.
“His ‘Leg Spin Tutorial’ is still there [on YouTube]. It’s about 9-9.5 minutes long, where he explains everything—starting from how to grip the ball: two fingers up, two down. How to bowl a legbreak, a wrong’un, a flipper, the slider… I would watch it again and again and try it out in the nets,” he had told ESPNcricinfo in an interview.
Since then, his journey has taken him from Punjab to Puducherry, to Galle in Sri Lanka, and Stoke-on-Trent in England. And eight years after being dropped from Punjab’s Ranji Trophy squad, Raghu finally made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians.