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On Tuesday, BCCI announced the appointment of Rohit Sharma as India’s new T20I skipper. The board also announced the squad for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand, which is scheduled to start on November 17. The series will be the first assignment of Rohit Sharma as the new captain in T20Is.
Twitter was abuzz after the announcement with many wishing Rohit the best of luck for the new start. Along with many former cricketers, Rohit Sharma’s childhood coach Dinesh Lad also shared his excitement and said that the opener is a born leader.
“I am very happy that my student will lead the Indian team. He is a born leader. When he was young, he used to lead in school games and his only mindset was to win games for his side”, Dinesh said.
When asked about whether the added pressure of captaincy will take a toll on Rohit’s batting, Dinesh simply denied it.
“I don’t think it will impact his batting. He has won 5 IPL titles and whenever he got a chance to lead India, whether it was Asia Cup or other series, he always succeeded”, he added.
When asked about the changes Rohit might bring with his leadership, Dinesh said that he doesn’t think Rohit will change much. Dinesh believes that the only difference between the captaincy of Virat and Rohit is that the latter takes a calmer approach.
“I don’t think much will change. Virat Kohli led India well in T20Is and Rohit will do the same. The only difference in their captaincy is that Virat was a bit more aggressive, while Rohit is calm”, revealed the Indian opener’s childhood coach.
Dinesh further revealed how he discovered Rohit’s batting talent. Many wouldn’t know but India’s most destructive batter played as an off-spinner in his initial days.
“One day I saw a boy practicing his shots and he was middling every ball. At first, I couldn’t recognise him but when I went near I saw Rohit batting. I was very impressed”, revealed Dinesh.
Media houses have always described Rohit-Virat’s relationship as ‘complicated’, but Dinesh feels Rohit taking over captaincy will not bring any ego clashes between two top-class players.
“They are both representing Team India and they both are such top-class players, I don’t think there will be any tension between them in the dressing room”, he concluded.
