"Have never seen his character change, whether good or bad times" - Suryakumar Yadav backs under-fire Rohit Sharma
Team India's T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav threw his weight behind Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma, who is in the firing line after India's 3-0 loss to New Zealand in the Test series at home. Describing Rohit as a 'leader', Suryakumar asserted that he had learned a lot from the former, adding that he has never seen the cricketer's character change irrespective of good or bad times.
Rohit-led India lost all three Tests of the home series against the Kiwis recently. For the first time in history, a visiting side has whitewashed India at home in a Test series of three or more matches.
Following the shocking result, Rohit has come in for plenty of criticism from fans and experts. However, speaking ahead of the T20I series in South Africa, Suryakumar backed the under-fire cricketer and said:
"In sports, wins and losses keep happening. Everybody works hard, everybody works hard to win. Sometimes, it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I have learnt this from him (Rohit) only - in life, being balanced is important. I have never seen his character change, whether good or bad times. I have seen him grow as a lot as a player and as a leader."
"A leader wants to define how the team wants to play the format. A captain always wants to win, but a leader defines a style," the 34-year-old added.
Apart from failing as captain, Rohit also struggled with the bat during the three-match Test series against New Zealand. The 37-year-old scored 91 runs in six innings at an average of 15.17, with a best of 52.
"I can’t be as aggressive as a captain" - Suryakumar on the contrast in his batting and leadership styles
Asked to shed light on his leadership style, Suryakumar said it's not as aggressive as his batting. He elaborated that, as a captain, he tries to make the players feel comfortable, which involves constantly interacting with them and spending time with them off the field as well.
"As a leader, my batting style is completely different. I can’t be as aggressive as a captain. But, yeah, you have to understand what’s happening around you, I have to understand what my players are thinking. Giving them a comfort zone is very important. Everybody has their skills. They also want to come out and express themselves," the Indian T20I captain explained.
"Off the field, I try and spend a lot of time with them. I try and assess their strengths and see when they can come of use for the team in pressure and crunch situations. That’s how I am on the field. This format is such that you keep playing and keep learning. It’s so fast. By the time, you blink, this game is over. So freedom and clarity of thought are very important," Suryakumar concluded.
Team India will begin their T20I series against South Africa with the first match at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday, November 8.