Rohit Sharma said it is a great honour to become captain of the Indian cricket team, and one needs to earn it as he and his predecessors, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, did. Rohit, who confirmed that he has no plans of retiring from Test cricket and that his decision to sit out from the Sydney Test against Australia was only due to his poor form in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, said the next Indian captain will also need to earn that tag by understanding its weight.
"It is difficult to say. It is very difficult to say," Rohit told Star Sports when asked about youngsters who are ready to lead India in Test cricket. "There are many boys. But I want them to understand the importance of cricket first," Understand the importance of this place. They are new boys. I know they should be given responsibility. But let them earn it. Let them play some hard-fought cricket for the next few years or whatever it is. Let them earn it."
Rohit gave his own example and namedropped his predecessors Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni to further explain this point of the importance of being the Indian captain and necessity to earn it.
"I am here now. Bumrah is here. Virat was here before him. MS Dhoni was here before him. Everyone has earned it. Kisi ne humko plate pe saja ke nahi dia ( no one gave it to us on a plate). No one should get it like this. Let them work hard. There is a lot of talent in the boys. But at the same time, I also want to say that it is not easy to become the captain of India. There is pressure. But it is a great honour. Our history and the way we play cricket has a great responsibility on both shoulders. So let them earn it," he said.
Rohit heaps praise on leader Bumrah
Rohit ruled out the possibility of retiring from Test cricket by saying that he is currently out of form but that doesn't mean his bat will remain islent five months later. “Whenever I am captaining, I don't believe in what is going to happen after 5 months or 6 months. What do you want in the immediate future, it is important to focus on this thing. Our entire focus was on these 5 matches. We had to retain the trophy, we had to win. So, when we take such decisions, we do it keeping the team in front of us,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Rohit ruled out the possibility of retiring from Test cricket by saying that he is currently out of form but that doesn't mean his bat will remain islent five months later. “Whenever I am captaining, I don't believe in what is going to happen after 5 months or 6 months. What do you want in the immediate future, it is important to focus on this thing. Our entire focus was on these 5 matches. We had to retain the trophy, we had to win. So, when we take such decisions, we do it keeping the team in front of us,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Rohit also heaped praise on Bumrah saying he has been impressed by the latter’s leadership qualities. “He has a lot of game ideas. The way he sets an example of his bowling for others, that is class. He has class. He understands the game. He always keeps the team ahead. have been watching him for the last 11 years. I saw him for the first time in 2013. His graph has also gone up. He has evolved a lot in himself. With his game, with his thinking. The way he is bowling, the whole world is watching. But yes, he has gone strength to strength.