The former India captain and opening batter Sunil Gavaskar has compared the captaincy of Rohit Sharma with the two other World Cup-winning captains Kapil Dev and Mahendra Singh Dhoni after the former clinched the second title in the Men’s T20 World Cup for India, getting the better of South Africa at the Kensington Oval, in Barbados.
As a member of the Indian team, Rohit won the 20-over ICC event in 2007 as a player, and the Champions Trophy 2013. However, the hardest thing in his career was to be on the wrong side of the game during the 2023 World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup final 2023, both against Australia.
Rohit Sharma also faced many questions on the structure and approach of India playing the shortest format of the game, as they looked to be batting in an old-school way, whereas the others have already gone past in the system.
‘Rohit Sharma showed a complete disregard for personal milestones’- Sunil Gavaskar
The former captain of the Indian team Sunil Gavaskar feels that Rohit Sharma has changed the way India used to play the shortest format of the game, as he raised the hand when it was needed for someone to go with aggression towards the beginning of the innings, rather than going after the bowlers towards the end.
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‘Rohit Sharma joins those other two cricketing giants, Kapil Dev and Dhoni in captaining India to a World Cup trophy. Like the duo were, Rohit is also a people’s captain.’ Gavaskar wrote in his column for mid-days on Sunday.
The laconic style of leadership in taking the tactics sharply and being always movable with the momentum of the game has made Rohit Sharma, one of the best as Gavaskar believes.
‘Well likes, not only by his team members, but by the entire Indian cricketing community. The cricket fans also love his laconic style of leadership and tactically, he is as good as the sharpest in the game.’ The former India opening batter penned down about the Nagpur-born Rohit Sharma. ‘Some of his moves can surprise you and make you scratch your head as to the reason, but the end result is more often than not exactly what the team needed at that moment.’
Rohit Sharma ended the T20 World Cup 2024, as the second-highest run-getter of the tournament, with 257 runs at a strike rate of 156.70, with three half-centuries, including the 41-ball 92-run knock during the last ‘super eight’ contest against Australia in St Lucia.
‘He led from the front, showing a complete disregard for personal milestones and instead looked to get the team off to a flying start every time. India are blessed to have him as their captain.’ Gavaskar continued.
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One of the biggest benefits of Rohit being the captain was how he handled the bowlers. There were times when he gave Jasprit Bumrah the fourth and sixth over inside the powerplay. He was also very crystal clear about his planning in the team line-up.
During the group stage of the tournament, India went with Mohammad Siraj in the eleven, and once they moved to the Caribbean and were supposed to play on those slow and low surfaces, he straightaway went with Kuldeep Yadav, as his partnership with head coach Rahul Dravid was phenomenal.
‘While the players natural took all the limelight as they should, there was the support staff led by the one and only Rahul Dravid who also has a massive role to play in the victory.’ Sunil Gavaskar concluded. ‘What a terrific combo the two RS made. Totally team-oriented, completely selfless, and prepared to do anything and everything for Team India.’