For India to win the second Test match at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, most of the credit should go to their captain Rohit Sharma for the way he has handled the proceeding and channeled the team in an aggressive mindset. With just 35 overs being possible for the opening day, followed by two days of persistent rain, the game seemed to be moving towards a boring draw.
Bangladesh started the fourth day’s play with 104/3 on the board before the premier pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, led the bowling to bundle out the visiting side for 233. India could have easily batted for the rest of the day to push it for a draw, with a 1-0 lead in the series, but Rohit Sharma had other plans.
Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed the opening over for four boundaries before the Nagpur-born stepped out on the very first delivery to smash Khaled Ahmed for a six on the very first ball before pulling him over square leg for the same result. That was a sign of intent and a proper message to the dressing room.
Saba Karim praised Rohit Sharma for showing bold character in captaincy
The former wicket-keeper batter of the Indian side, Saba Karim, feels that the captain of the Blue Brigade has shown bold character, regarding the leadership of the team. The veteran nailed another six before misreading the length of Mehidy Hasan Miraz to end with 23 runs in 11 balls.
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The former national selector of the Indian team was impressed with the way the experienced batter has transformed his captaincy in the longest format of the game from the successful campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024 and the ODI World Cup last year at home.
“I think it reveals a lot about Rohit Sharma’s character. I think that’s the kind of transformation we have seen in Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in Test cricket now and before that, we have seen in white ball cricket in T20 and ODI World Cups.” Saba Karim said during a discussion on Jio Cinema.
He also touched on how the 37-year-old used his resources in a great way, while his decision-making was precise and to the point. India declared, with a 52-run lead late on the fourth day before claiming two wickets of the Bangladesh side, thanks to Ravichandran Ashwin.
“I think Rohit’s intentions have always been very clear. The decision-making has been very precise, and I think it is good in a way that he’s got players or resources in his lineup who can follow the path that he treads, and he leads by example all the time, and I’ve seen that in the past and even now in this Test innings.” Saba Karim touched on this.
“When he wants to impose as a team that you need to win this encounter, this is the way you have to take the game forward. And I think that’s what Rohit and company have done so far.” The former national selector noted.
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Most of the captains would have taken time to settle down. Having gone through two poor scores in the last Test in Chennai, but that wasn’t the case with Rohit Sharma.
“So, this is the most pleasing and a very refreshing sight from Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. If you have seen in the past by earlier captains at times, They say, ‘Let’s take the time, let us settle down, then we’ll take it forward. Let’s play the 1st 5-6 overs, and then we’ll try and accelerate. But with Rohit Sharma at the helm, there’s nothing of that sort.” Saba Karim concluded.