The former India pacer Zaheer Khan believes that the team has been blessed with the way their captain Rohit Sharma has led the team to the final of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA). His captaincy and bating in the opening position have already changed the way they used to play this format.
India started their group stage with a bang as they were unbeaten in that round, with a simple win over Ireland, while in the second game, the bowlers did an excellent job against Pakistan, while the team chased down a sluggish total against the USA.
In the ‘super eight’ stage of the tournament too, India has been quite fantastic against the three sides- Afghanistan Bangladesh, and Australia. The last game found Rohit Sharma keeping his word of going after the bowlers from the beginning, irrespective of the situation they would have at that moment.
‘Rohit Sharma catches the pulse of the game very nicely’- Zaheer Khan
Even when they lost two quick wickets against England in the semifinal in Guyana, it was Rohit’s performance with the bat, where he had removed the ‘fear of failure of the team’, and focused on following the process for a long time.
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When asked how Rohit Sharma used his bowlers rotated them in the attack, and used the right bowlers from the right end, and that too in the right situation, showed how brilliant he has been in this process from the start of the tournament.
‘He (Rohit Sharma) has been phenomenal with that. We have seen it over the years now.’ The former left-arm pace bowler Zaheer Khan mentioned Rohit Sharma. ‘He catches the pulse of the game very nicely, and that’s something he did today (during the semifinal against England) as well.’
For the whole USA leg of the tournament, he used the three-pace bowling attack, along with having the services of Hardik Pandya in the side. Once they reached West Indies for the ‘super eight’ round of the competition, it didn’t take even one single game, to bring back Kuldeep Yadav in the team, which shows how crystal clear he has been on his plans.
‘As we are mentioning, Hardik (Pandya) was used straight into the 15th over. So he (Rohit Sharma) is smart in knowing the plans.’ The former Mumbai bowler remarked. ‘Today’s pitch (in Guyana), spinners are going to come into play, so let’s get the spinners early in the game. Axar – he is using him in the powerplay’ ‘
For most of the T20s during the IPL when he was the captain, Rohit used to have Jasprit Bumrah differently, whether it’s about using him in the powerplay for 1 over, and keeping three of his figures for the latter part.
However, with the change of the tracks, he has kept the Ahmedabad-born player for the most part of powerplay, and bringing him back for the death phase of the innings.
‘But his pattern upfront has become little more aggressive than what it has been so far (In the tournament). He (Rohit Sharma) used to hold Bumrah back for maybe three overs after the powerplay.’ The retired pace bowler Zaheer Khan remarked. ‘In this T20 World Cup, he has been using him upfront with the new ball for one over, and then finish the powerplay and setting the game that way which has become a huge advantage.’
India will face South Africa in the final of the tournament on June 29, at the Kensington Oval, in Bridgetown, Barbados.