“I often take his advice during matches” - When Virat Kohli touted Rohit Sharma as future captain after 2013 Zimbabwe tour
Back in 2013, Virat Kohli praised the tactical mindset of Rohit Sharma and revealed he was taking the latter's advice during his captaincy stint. Kohli's comments came after his first assignment as a captain in the five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe.
Interestingly, Kohli was appointed as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain ahead of the IPL 2013 season. Unfortunately, RCB finished fifth in the table with nine wins in 16 games. On the other hand, Sharma took over as a leader of the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the middle of the 2013 season and helped the franchise to win their maiden title.
Nevertheless, Kohli, who was already serving as a deputy to MS Dhoni, was handed the leadership role of the Indian team for the Zimbabwe series. In the first ODI, Kohli slammed a hundred to seal the chase and set a tone for the Men in Blue. The Indian team then went on to secure a 5-0 clean sweep against Zimbabwe.
Virat Kohli shared with the media that he took help from Rohit Sharma in plotting strategies during the series and also pointed out his leadership success for MI. He said:
"Rohit has a tremendous cricketing brain. I often take his advice during matches. He has shown his capability while leading Mumbai Indians in the IPL." [H/T ESPNcricinfo]
Rohit Sharma hailed Virat Kohli as 'champion player' post T20 World Cup 2024
After India's title-winning run in the T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retired from the shortest format. Kohli notably returned to form by slamming 76 off 59 in the final against South Africa to help India win by seven runs.
At the post-match conference, Sharma expressed happiness at Kohli ending his T20I career on a high. He said:
“I am very happy for him that he batted like he did in the finals. I know the quality that he has the big games and all of that. He is going to come good. When we wanted him the most, he came out and performed the way he did." [H/T India Today]
"So very happy looking at his career. Obviously, he's been a champion player. We know, we can see the stats and everything there. But, yeah, a nice way to sign off from this format,” he added.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will next be in action in the second and final Test match of the bilateral series against Bangladesh. The game in Kanpur will begin on September 27.