IPL 2026 | 'Jai Shree Ram … ': A note, a prayer, and Raghu Sharma's 15-year wait

NEW DELHI: It was a night for survival for the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in IPL 2026 against the Lucknow Super Giants. And with a vintage Rohit Sharma show, and MI’s standout batter this season Ryan Rickelton in tow, MI brushed aside LSG to keep their IPL playoff chances alive, even if hanging by a thread.

But the highlight of the night wasn’t necessarily Rohit’s roaring return from injury, or even Nicholas Pooran’s blistering half-century after a prolonged lean patch.

It was Raghu Sharma’s emotional gesture. A simple return catch. A first IPL wicket. And then - a piece of paper.

Playing only his second IPL game, Sharma dismissed LSG debutant Akshat Raghuwanshi for 11. But the celebration, as is often the case with many wicket celebrations, wasn’t instinctive aggression. Instead, it was deliberate and deeply personal.

After the wicket, Sharma held up a note - bringing back memories of Dinesh Ramdin’s “Talk na Viv” message, and closer home, Abhishek Sharma’s similar IPL hundred celebration last season. The cameras zoomed in, with even stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav trying, almost quizzically, to read the note.

The moment went viral instantly.

But nothing about the note was instant. It encapsulated Sharma’s journey to this very moment - 15 years in the making.

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.”

The 15-year grind behind one wicket
Sharma was drafted into the MI setup last season as an injury replacement for young Vignesh Puthur and was retained this season. After spending the initial few games on the bench, MI handed Sharma his debut against Chennai Super Kings a few days back, where he returned figures of 0/24.

Looking back at Sharma’s path to his IPL moment, it was far from conventional. He didn’t grow up in elite systems. In fact, he began serious cricket only after turning 18.

Starting as a fast bowler, Raghu had to reinvent himself, switching to leg-spin following a hamstring injury - largely self-taught.

“I started legspin by watching his videos… I would watch it again and again, and try it out in the nets,” Raghu recalled, crediting Shane Warne as his virtual mentor, in an interview with ESPNcricinfo before the start of the season.

But for someone who started serious cricket so late, it was always going to be tough to break through.