Rohit Sharma spoke in detail about leading the Indian team since taking over the captaincy in late 2021.
India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, remains one of the most formidable batters of his generation. A mainstay in the team for many years now, Rohit had etched his name with his remarkable performance in the 2019 World Cup when he smashed a record five centuries. However, India faced disappointment towards the closing stages of the tournament, exiting in the semi-final stage. Taking over as captain following Virat Kohli stepping down from the position in 2021, Rohit failed another disappointment in the 2023 edition of the World Cup, as India lost in the final to Australia at home.
The batter might have failed to end the ICC title drought, but India remains a strong force in international cricket under Rohit. During a conversation with Dinesh Karthik on Jio Cinema, the skipper delved into the demanding nature of captaincy responsibilities within the Indian team. Rohit revealed that he had a clear mindset upon assuming the full-time captaincy role. According to him, numbers are ‘overrated’ and he supported this perspective with his own example.
“I wanted to bring a certain change; players going out there and playing with a lot of freedom. That statistical side of cricket… I want to completely take it out of this team. People are not looking at numbers. People are not looking at their personal scores and just play the game. Numbers are overrated. In India, we do talk a lot about numbers and all of that. But like, yeah, I got five hundreds in 2019 World Cup but kya hua uska, haar gaye na (but what happened, we still lost)?” Rohit said.
ALSO READ: Top 5 highest team totals in India vs England Tests
The Indian captain Rohit Sharma added that leading the charge across all five formats is “draining,” but being in the core group prior to the captaincy helped him.
“It is quite draining, but that is what you sign up for. When you take the responsibility, I think when the opportunity came to me to lead the team, I was excited. In the last 7-8 years, I’ve been part of that core group decision-making, vice-captain. I led in Virat’s absence a few times when he was not there, but yeah, obviously it’s a huge honour to be captaining your country. You know, I have seen many greats who have captained the team stalwarts in their way, so to be alongside them, you know, it’s a great honour. Great privilege,” Rohit said.
Rohit is currently leading the Indian team in the five-match Test series against England, which kickstarted on Thursday in Hyderabad.