After taking charge as the ODI skipper of the Indian team, Rohit Sharma has opened up on the legacy of Virat Kohli as the white-ball captain. The star opener replaced Kohli as the ODI skipper last week, completing the Indian team's overhaul in its white-ball setup.
Rohit highlighted Kohli's contribution to Indian cricket, where he "led from the front" and there was "clear determination" to win every game. The 33-year-old Kohli led India in 95 ODI matches and registered victories 65 times. He made an exit with a win percentage of 70.43 -- the most by an Indian who has led the national side in more than 10 games.
"He's put the team in the situation where there is no looking back. Those five years with the team... he led from the front and there was clear determination to win every game. We had a great time playing under him. I have played great cricket under him and have enjoyed every moment, and I'll still continue to do that. We need to keep getting better as a team and as an individual. That will be the focus of the entire squad moving forward," said Rohit in an interview with bcci.tv.
Kohli may have enjoyed an impressive success ratio during his captaincy stint but he failed to lead the team to an ICC trophy. The Champions Trophy in 2013 has been India's last trophy, which was under MS Dhoni's leadership. As Rohit takes charge with two limited-overs World Cups on the trot, he said that the team needs to follow a "process" before getting to the end result.
Speaking on the eight-year ICC title drought, Rohit said, "India will be definitely eying to do well in the upcoming World Cups. Our focus will be to win championships but there's a process to be followed. If you want to win championships, there are a lot of other things that you need to take care of, and then focus on the end result.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking on the eight-year ICC title drought, Rohit said, "India will be definitely eying to do well in the upcoming World Cups. Our focus will be to win championships but there's a process to be followed. If you want to win championships, there are a lot of other things that you need to take care of, and then focus on the end result.
{{/usCountry}}"The last ICC trophy that we won was in 2013... I don't think we did anything wrong but could not get that extra inch to win the title. That can happen as international cricket is demanding. But as professionals, we need to put the right step forward and make sure that we put all things in the right bag," he further said.
From me, the message to the boys will be to not think much about the finals and focus on the process. It is important to keep ticking the small boxes until we reach the end goal," concluded Rohit.