Rohit Sharma Captaincy: Former Indian head coach Rahul Dravid sheds light on then Indian T20I captain Rohit Sharma for transforming the T20I cricket approach and setting new standards for the upcoming generation.
Talking about India’s transformation in the shortest format, Rahul Dravid stated that the shift towards changing this format was taken with Rohit Sharma after he took charge as the head coach.
Rohit Sharma Captaincy
He stated,
“Can’t speak for what happened before me. It’s not for me to say that. But certainly from the time I came in, a lot of the discussion with Rohit was around that we wanted to play a more aggressive brand of cricket. We started right from the beginning. Because we could see that that’s the way the game was evolving.”
“And Rohit’s got to take a large credit for that. To move the team in a particular direction. Play the game in a lot more aggressive and a lot more positive manner.”
“We Sort Of Kept Going In That Direction…”: Rahul Dravid
Further, Dravid stated that the Indian batting style in T20Is has defined the tournament in a new way. He said,
“I’m glad that we sort of kept going in that direction to the point where I think India’s kind of literally absolutely. I think changing what T20 cricket is like. I think Indian batting in T20 cricket at the moment is off the charts. I mean, it’s close to 300. And everyone else in the world is now having to catch up. I think in the space of 3 or 4 years you’re seeing that everyone’s looking at India and saying, “Shucks, man, we’ve got to match this.”
Dravid also admitted that the things that coaches do play a key role in giving players confidence, but the real credit goes to the players and leaders who take the risks on the field.
He said,
“I mean, I wouldn’t say like me. I would say these players. They are the players who do that. I mean, I’m not saying that I shouldn’t get any credit. But it has to be driven by the leaders. It has to be driven by the captain.”
“It has to be driven by the players, because they’ve got to do it. They’ve got to take the risks. You might be giving them a certain amount of security, but in the end, they’re the ones who’ve got to take those chances, take those risks.”
