'We see Dhoni as Mr Cool but...': World Cup-winning all-rounder compares Rohit with MS; 'He's cool as a cucumber'

IND vs SL 2nd Test: The new Test skipper of India played on the front foot to negate the threat of spinners and seemed like he had a fair idea of the wicket.

Rohit Sharma put his experience to good use and confidently swept and reverse swept the spinners as India tightened their noose around Sri Lanka on Day 2 of the ongoing Bengaluru Test. The new Test skipper of India played on the front foot to negate the threat of spinners and seemed like he had a fair idea of the wicket. He added 42 runs with Mayank Agarwal, who eventually fell for 22 after edging one from left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya towards gully.

MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma

But Rohit looked unperturbed by the exit of his opening partner and continued to play measured shots. He's had his fair share of struggles at the international stage before becoming the full-time leader of India across all three formats. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan reflected on Rohit's journey and said how the "talented" cricketer elevated his career after the World Cup snub back in 2011. Irfan also underlined Rohit's calm demeanour and said opening the innings in 2013 revitalized his career to a great extent.

Follow IND vs SL 2nd Test, Day 2 Live

"Every player goes through that phase in his career when he isn't able to perform and only left with disappointment. The current team has two such players: Jadeja and Rohit. Jadeja hasn't looked back since the 2017 Champions Trophy final... and Rohit has changed a lot since the 2011 World Cup snub. There used to be a lot of talk about his talent. But he himself would say that he was much more than just talent.

"He worked hard on his skill-set and the best opportunity came in the 2013 Champions Trophy. He was given the role of opening the innings and that took Rohit's career to another level. His performance was a notch above and that improved his consistency as well. We talk about Dhoni being Mr Cool but Rohit is cool as a cucumber," Irfan said in a discussion on Star Sports.

"He was also appointed Mumbai Indians skipper midway through the season. He replaced Ricky Ponting and completely changed the Mumbai franchise. Mumbai does a lot of meetings and being involved in the process in detail is a tough task. One should learn from Rohit how to lift the side on his shoulders and be involved in his team's growth," he further said.

India are currently in control of the Bengaluru Test, having taken a healthy 200-run lead. Sri Lanka resumed at 86 for six and India required less than 30 minutes to wrap their innings for a huge 143-run first-innings lead.

Jasprit Bumrah completed his eighth five-wicket haul in Test cricket, also his first at home, as India pulverized a listless batting attack. Ashwin and Mohammed Shami added two wickets to their name while Axar Patel snared one wicket. At tea, Rohit (30 not out) and Hanuma Vihari (8 batting) looked set as India aim to extend their lead and clinch the pink-ball game to seal the Test series 2-0.