Former Indian World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir heaped praise on Indian skipper Rohit Sharma for his outstanding captaincy in the recently concluded ODI World Cup 2023 on home soil. The Men in Blue played a dominating brand of cricket throughout the marquee event before falling short of the well-deserved title.
Rohit Sharma revitalised Indian cricket following Virat Kohli’s departure as captain during the 2021 T20 World Cup. The Indian squad performed admirably in the One-Day International World Cup before falling to Australia in the finals. The Indian skipper accumulated 597 runs at an impressive strike rate of 125.94 setting the tone for the team at the top of the order.
In an interview during the ‘ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash’, Gautam Gambhir feels that Rohit Sharma has done a brilliant job as captain for the Indian team and in the Indian Premier League. The former Indian opener believes that one terrible game does not define him, as he recalls the Men in Blue’s dominance throughout the tournament.
“In captaincy, Rohit has done a very, very good job. It is not easy to win five IPL trophies. The way India have dominated in the last 50-over World Cup and I said that before the World Cup final as well…I said that irrespective of the result, whatever the result is after the World Cup, India played like a champion side”.
“One bad game doesn’t make Rohit Sharma or this side a bad team. Ten games and the way they have dominated the whole tournament. Just because of one bad game if you call Rohit Sharma a bad captain, this is not fair,” Gautam Gambhir said.
Rohit Sharma is a well-known white-ball skipper who has led the Mumbai Indians to five IPL championships. The Indian opener also led the team to the 2018 Asia Cup and Nidahas Trophy trophies, as well as another Asia Cup title in Sri Lanka in 2023, but he was unable to lead the team to the third ODI World Cup title.
Rohit Sharma Should Be Leading In The T20 World Cup – Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir believes that Rohit Sharma should captain the team in the next 2024 T20 World Cup if he finds form in the shortest format of the game, adding that the player deserves a position in the playing 11 based on his performance rather than his captaincy.
“If Rohit Sharma is in good form, he should be leading in the T20 World Cup or if he is not in good form, whoever is not in good form should not be picked for the T20 World Cup. Captaincy is a responsibility.
“First, you get yourself selected as a player and then you’re made captain. A captain should have a permanent position in the playing eleven, and the permanent place depends on the form,” Gautam Gambhir added.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were not included in India’s T20 Plan following the end of the 2022 T20 World Cup, as team management preferred younger players in the shorter format of the game but the Mumbai-born batter is likely to lead the team in the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup.
