Ever since Rohit Sharma became Indiaโs full-time captain in all formats, the style in which India played cricket has massively reformed. Time and again, Sharma has clarified that the team will continue playing with a positive and aggressive approach, leading to the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 set to be held in Australia later this year. Evidently, Indiaโs latest brand of cricket has brought the side formidable results in the white-ball format.
In Star Sports’ popular show, โFollow The Bluesโ, Rohit Sharma opened up on the teamโs ideology. Sharma said, โWeโve made it very clear after the T20 World Cup in Dubai to everyone. We didnโt qualify for the finals, we felt there needed to be a change in our attitude and approach in how we play our gameโ.
India had a forgettable campaign in the last T20 World Cup. In the premium T20 event, India bowed out of the tournament after the league stage itself. Team Indiaโs poor performance paved way for thousands of questions. Regular skipper Virat Kohli had already announced his decision to step down from the captaincy, and newly-appointed skipper, Rohit Sharma had a tough task ahead of him with another world event less than 12 months away.”
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“Players need freedom and clarity”, said Rohit Sharma
Continuing his conversation with Star Sports, Rohit revealed that players will have a completely different attitude this time around. โIf the message is clear from the captain and the coach about where the team is trying to head, then the individuals will definitely try to do that. For that to happen they need freedom and clarity and thatโs what we are trying to do. We are trying to give them as much freedom as possible.โ, Rohit told.
When asked about his experience of leading a team full of young leaders, Rohit commented, โI know itโs very exciting honestly to create so many leaders around the team because itโs always a good sign.โ
โAnd you want the guys to handle the pressure, who understand the game and know each other really well. And when they are leading the team, all these things can happenโ, he continued.
“I think itโs fantastic”, talking about India having seven captains across formats this year
India has had seven captains leading the team this year due to various reasons. When questioned about India having too many captains in the recent past, Rohit smartly answered, saying, โI think itโs very important to have that leadership, but obviously, you know we play the IPL and itโs a 10-team tournament. So there will be 10 captains which at some stage will be a part of the Indian team as well.โ
โYou know, I think itโs fantastic because honestly my job is much lesser as these guys understand everything pretty well. So, itโs just about if someoneโs having a thought, how am I going to back up that thought. For me as captain that is my role and that is what Iโm trying to doโ, he went on to say.
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“We have some kind of understanding”, Rohit Sharma on his partnership with coach Rahul Dravid
Lastly, talking about his partnership with coach Rahul Dravid, the skipper told, โWith Rahul Bhai, I have played some games with him as he was my first captain when I made my ODI debut. So, obviously, we have some kind of understanding. I have spent a lot of time in the NCA when I was injured and he was there.โWe had regular chats happening all the time and he was closely following my game as wellโ.
Moreover, he said, โWhen he (Dravid) became a coach here, we met and sat together in a room for a while and decided how we want to take this thing forward and he was pretty much on the same thought process as to what I was thinking. That made it a little easier for me to give out a clear message to the boys because we donโt want to create confusion among the group; and of course, we wanted him to change the style of cricket as well. We wanted to play a certain way in all three formats and he was ready to accept all of thatโ.
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Currently, the Indian team in Miami, USA, looking to clinch the series 4-1 as they take on the hosts West Indies in the last match of the series today. The bonanza for Indian fans does not end with this match as the team will then travel to Zimbabwe for a three-match ODI series before featuring in the Asia Cup set to be held in the UAE. Indiaโs squad for the Asia Cup will be announced on Monday, August 8.
