Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar believes that Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is an underrated captain in the Indian Premier League and reckons that he does not get much credit for his captaincy as MS Dhoni receives in the cash-rich league.
Sunil Gavaskar hailed Mumbai Indians skipper for his captaincy skills as he led the team from the front in IPL 2023, especially with shrewd tactics in the 2nd half of the IPL as the five-time champions came back stronger in the league stage to win five matches out of seven to make into the playoffs.
Speaking to India Today, Cricketer-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar feels that Rohit Sharma is an undervalued captain in IPL, as he was not given credit for captaincy skills and asserted that the Indian skipper is the most successful captain in the history of the league winning 5 IPL titles for his team.
“Of course, he is underrated. The man has won 5 titles for Mumbai Indians. Let me give you an example. Maddhwal got Ayush Badoni, bowling over the wicket. He then went round the wicket to the left-hander Nicholas Pooran,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar pointed out the tactics by Rohit Sharma to bring in Akash Madhwal in the middle overs to pick the important wickets of Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran in consecutive balls to help their side win the Eliminator game
“Not many bowlers necessarily do that because if they get their rhythm going bowling over the wicket, they will stick to over the wicket even if it’s a left-hander, trying to leave the left-hander. But he went around the wicket, produced an absolute gem of a delivery, and got the man out”.
The 29-year-old displayed an outstanding spell of fast bowling picking up his maiden 5-wicket haul in the cash-rich league. Akash Madhwal has taken the responsibility on his shoulder to perform for the side at the tournament’s business end.
Everybody Would Have Said Dhoni Plotted Nicholas Pooran’s Dismissal – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar said that MS Dhoni would have received a lot of credit if he has brought in Akash Madhwal around the wicket for Nicholas Pooran and feels that Rohit Sharma did not get enough appreciation from bring him to bowl round the wicket in the crucial time of the game.
“If that had been CSK and Dhoni was the captain. Everybody would have said ‘Dhoni plotted Nicholas Pooran’s dismissal. This is what happens to a great extent. There is also a little bit of hype, things sometimes work out,”
“What I am saying is Rohit Sharma did not get the credit for telling Madhwal to bowl around the wicket,” Sunil Gavaskar added.
The former Indian opener lauded Rohit Sharma for bringing Nehal Wadhera as an impact player while batting first, which eventually helped Mumbai Indians to post a competitive total at the end of 20 overs.
Mumbai Indians will take on defending champions Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 in the famous Narendra Modi Stadium on May 26 and the stakes on the game will be high as both the teams will fight for a place in the grand final against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.