Rohit Sharma is natural successor to Virat Kohli

Hyderabad: “This is a natural progression.’’ This is what MSK Prasad, former chairman of National selection committee, said of Rohit Sharma succeeding Virat Kohli as India T20 team captain. The present set of selectors felt that the 34-year-old was the right man for the job. He has impressive record to back his candidature as he […]

Hyderabad: “This is a natural progression.’’ This is what MSK Prasad, former chairman of National selection committee, said of Rohit Sharma succeeding Virat Kohli as India T20 team captain. The present set of selectors felt that the 34-year-old was the right man for the job. He has impressive record to back his candidature as he won five IPL titles for Mumbai Indians. He was groomed for the captaincy. He is a shrewd thinker of the game.

“Rohit is a cool and calm customer. He is a mix of both Virat (Kohli) and (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni. He is aggressive but at the same time he is cool like Dhoni while handling tight games. He led India to title triumph in Asia Cup when Kohli was rested. He has got five IPL titles. It speaks of his leadership qualities,” said Prasad.

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On the Rohit’s combination with new coach Rahul Dravid, Prasad pointed that an experienced duo will be in charge of the team. “Like Rohit, Dravid as head coach is a natural progression. He handled different Indian teams before this assignment. Many of the players were groomed by Dravid through India A structure. Being a studious person and good listener, Dravid can be a successful coach and have a fantastic rapport with Rohit.”

Prasad said the selectors have to take call whether Rohit will lead in one-day cricket also. “The selectors need to take a call and that is the biggest challenge for the selectors.’’

WV Raman, former India opener and women’s coach, said Rohit and Kohli have different styles of captaincy. “Virat is lot more demonstrative while Rohit also show his disappointments overtly. He was the part of the decision making within the team management under Virat and he has that advantage. He was fortunate of partaking in tactical decisions in the team with the best thinkers of the game like Ravi (Shastri).”

Raman said Rohit is rated one of the shrewd strategist in the circuit. “It gives a lot of hopes and of course there will also be pressure in this period of time. Given the fact, for some reason, the ICC Trophy has been elusive even though India had done very well today in the last nine years in every format they played. That bit of pressure will be there on Rohit.”

Raman said in cricket, captain is the boss. “He is one who is going to handle the fielders on the team. He has the game to assess them and handle the emotions. But to have someone like Rahul Dravid, he understands what is the role of coach is. It is primarily the captain who should be in the forefront on the field.”

According to Raman, the World Cup should be ultimate prize. “It will happen and it is not far away but it needs a bit of luck also. It plays a big part because despite that the fact the team has overcome obstacles they need a bit of luck to win World Cup.”

Pragyan Ojha, former Indian left arm spinner, who played alongside Rohit, said it is the confidence that he carries on to the field. “He has already won five IPL titles as a captain. It is a big responsibility. It is different when leading your country. I’m sure the new responsibility will make him a strong leader and he has the ability to deliver the goods.
“It is good someone he has someone like Rahul Dravid. With the experience and the knowledge that he possesses I believe the Rahul bhai-Rohit combination will add a lot of value to the T20 team.”

Ojha felt that the transition will be a smooth affair. “The majority of the players, who are playing in the team now, have good rapport with Virat and Rohit. It would be like how Dhoni passed the captaincy to Virat. It would be interesting to see how Rohit will handle the team because he has been very successful with the franchise team.”

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