Rajasthan Royals (RR) pacer Akash Madhwal was spotted Mumbai Indians (MI) greeting Rohit Sharma and his wife Ritika Sajdeh with folded hands after their IPL 2025 match on Thursday. MI took a giant steps towards the playoffs, thumping RR by 100 runs to occupy top spot in the IPL points table temporarily. Madhwal made his IPL debut under Rohit’s leadership, impressing during the 2023 season. However, he struggled to find game time last season before being released by MI ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction, where he was bought up by RR for Rs 1.2 crore.

Madhwal, who made his first appearance for RR this season on Thursday, went wicketless against his former side. In a viral video, Madhwal shared a small chat with Rohit on the sidelines of the post-match presentation.

Rohit then pointed towards his wife, Ritika, who was in the stands, and Madhwal also greeted her with folded hands. Ritika also waved at the youngster with a smile on her facer. After Rohit and Madhwal had a chat, the former signed the latter’s jersey in a heartwarming moment.

No one can earn this with money

Rohit Sharma | Akash Madhwal pic.twitter.com/4gRHYrJlDv pic.twitter.com/r28CI8UiUJ

— (@SavageFlyy) May 1, 2025

Respect is earned not begged

Akash Madhwal Rohit Sharma#MIvsRR | #RohitSharma | #RRvsMI pic.twitter.com/WXU03GWjAv

— Indian Cricket Team (@incricketteam) May 1, 2025

During the match in Jaipur, Rohit completed 6,000 runs in IPL for MI, becoming only the second player to achieve the milestone for a single team.

With a total of 6024 runs for MI, Rohit is second after Virat Kohli, who leads the list with 8871 runs for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Rohit scored a brilliant 53 off 36 balls before being dismissed by Riyan Parag. His innings was studded with nine boundaries. This was his third fifty in the ongoing IPL.

After a slow beginning in the first half of IPL 2025, where Rohit made only 56 runs in his initial five matches, Rohit recovered with 234 runs in his previous five innings, featuring two not-out fifties and 53 against RR on Thursday.

The veteran of the Mumbai Indians is rediscovering his form precisely when his team requires it the most in this crucial phase.

(With ANI Inputs)