Cricketers who have played under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, have always praised him for his leadership skills. From keeping the dressing room lively to using his resources smartly on the ground, the 36-year-old Mumbaikar has proved his excellence on numerous occasions. The youngsters praise him for the support they get from him whereas the coaches adore his man-management skills in the Indian team as well as the IPL.
Joining the bandwagon is former India leg-spinner Piyush Chawla who has been playing with Rohit in the IPL for Mumbai Indians. Explaining how sharp Rohit is with his leadership, Chawala revealed once the India batter called him at 2:00 am in the night to discuss a strategy to dismiss David Warner in an IPL game.
“I’ve played so much cricket with him that we’ve reached a comfort level. We sit off the field as well. Once, at 2:30 in the night, he texted me and asked, ‘You up?’ He drew a field on paper and discussed with me about potentially dismissing Warner. Even at that time, he was thinking about how he could get the best out of me,” Chawla told Shubhankar Mishra on YouTube.
The leg-spinner had a strong season in 2023 where he picked 22 wickets in 16 matches, ending as the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the season. Mumbai Indians qualified for the playoffs in the 2023 season but lost to Gujarat Titans in the second qualifier match in Ahmedabad. Chawla asserted that Rohit Sharma is more of a ‘leader’ than a captain, citing the examples from the previous year’s ODI World Cup and the T20 World Cup this year.
“There’s a captain, then there’s a leader. He isn’t a captain but a leader. Whether it was the 2023 ODI World Cup, or the 2024 T20 World Cup, the way he batted, he sets the tone in such a way that he made it easy for the next batters. He’s a true leader. He gives you a free hand,” said Chawla.
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