‘I was not having a good season in IPL 2016’: Ex-India player reveals key secret behind Rohit Sharma’s captaincy success
With India defeated South Africa in their three-match T20I series, a former cricketer spoke about the secret behind Rohit Sharma's captaincy success and revealed how he would lead MI in the IPL.
With Team India securing a 2-1 win against South Africa in their three-match T20I series, former player Parthiv Patel lavished praise on Rohit Sharma's captaincy ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup. Speaking on Cricbuzz, the 37-year-old recalled how Rohit managed him as a player when he represented Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) from 2015-2017.
"Rohit Sharma usually spends a lot of time with players who are out of form. I was not having a good season in 2016. That year he spoke with me a lot, but when I was playing well in 2015 and 2017, there was not much talking involved. When you know that the captain is backing you, it makes a lot of difference", he said, revealing Rohit's key secret behind captaincy success.
Also Read | 'Pichele ek saal se jis tarah se matches huye hain...': Rizwan on IND vs PAK
During his stint as MI captain, Rohit has won five IPL titles. He took over India's T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup last year, followed by the ODI role too. He became India's Test captain in 2022 after Virat Kohli stepped down.
Patel also hailed Rohit and Rahul Dravid's man-management skills and said they 'implemented' their plans well. "Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid were quite clear in terms of their planning and they implemented it as well. They gave Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik valuable game time today. They have rotated the bowlers consistently. Yes, Bumrah's injury is unfortunate, you cannot do anything about it. They also began using spinners in the powerplay as well", he said.
The hosts won the first T20I by eight wickets, followed by sealing a series-clinching win in the second T20I vs South Africa, which they won by 16 runs. The visitors managed to grab a consolation win in the third T20I, edging past India by 49 runs. India are currently up against South Africa in a three-match ODI series, with Shikhar Dhawan leading the side as captain.
