Gambhir lauds Rohit's captaincy

MUMBAI: Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir is in awe of Rohit Sharma’s captaincy qualities, saying that a good leader is judged by the amount of security he provides his team-mates, and the right-hander has done that over the years.

Rohit has led Mumbai Indians to a record five IPL titles. Under his captaincy MI also won the now-defunct Champions League Twenty20 competition in 2013.

Rohit has been phenomenal with the bat and leadership skills in the ongoing World Cup as India remained unbeaten in the league stage, winning nine matches on the trot to storm into the semi-finals, where it will play New Zealand on Wednesday.

“There is nothing which has changed from 2019 to 2023. There were so many changes that happened in 2019 as compared to the least amount of changes that has happened in 2023,” Gambhir told Star Sports.

“A good captain and leader give you security, which makes the dressing room secure, not only for himself but for the other 14 players as well. And Rohit Sharma has done that.

“That’s why he has won five IPL trophies. That’s where his winning ratio when he started playing all those international games has been fabulous. If you go by the stats and the trophies, he ticks all the boxes. But the most important thing is he has made that dressing room a very secure dressing room.”

Former Australia skipper Aaron Finch likes Rohit’s aggressive approach in the powerplay.

“The thought process behind Rohit is he’s trying to get the team off to a quick start. You see, the wicket tends to get slower as the tournament has gone on. So, that initial powerplay to put pressure on the opposition is really crucial.

“I think what that’s done is it’s changed the bowler’s mindset before the game has even started, knowing that Rohit is going to come really hard at them,” he said.