"The confidence that he gave Arjun Tendulkar was just outstanding"- Pragyan Ojha on Rohit Sharma's captaincy against SRH
Former Indian cricketer Pragyan Ojha hailed Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma for his proactive captaincy in their win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Tuesday. He felt Rohit rotated his bowlers really well, helping them beat the hosts by 14 runs.
After MI finished rock bottom in the IPL 2022 season, there was a lot of talk about whether Rohit Sharma won five titles just because he had a great team. However, even with Mumbai's injury-hit bowling lune-up, Rohit was able to extract the best and beat the opposition.
Responding to a Sportskeeda query in a media interaction arranged for limited publications by Jio Cinema, here's what IPL expert Pragyan Ojha had to say about the way Rohit Sharma handled youngsters like Arjun Tendulkar:
"Last game, he was just brilliant the way he used his bowlers. The confidence that he gave Arjun Tendulkar was just outstanding because a guy who is playing just his second game on this kind of platform and bowling 20th over, is not easy and it needs lot of backing. That’s where I feel Rohit has been brilliant in handling these boys and the seniors in the team. It is very important how you make them feel and Rohit has been exceptional."
Pragyan Ojha also spoke about Rohit's achievement of five IPL titles as captain and added:
"As a captain, he (Rohit) has been just spot on. It is not just by chance that you win five trophies. It is by planning and how you go about your business. Yes at some point you can say he had a great side, but winning five trophies consistently in 15 years’ time is not easy."
Pragyan Ojha on Arjun Tendulkar's performance
Pragyan Ojha has been impressed with how well Arjun Tendulkar has performed in his two games so far. Tendulkar conceded just five runs in the final over against SRH and showed great temperament.
On this, Ojha stated:
"I spoke to Zaheer and he told me that Arjun is someone who you have to drag him out of the nets. So that’s how much he is dedicated. I feel we should judge him as an individual and not as a legend’s son. He will need to improve as in T20 cricket, you have to add armoury to your repertoire. But I strongly feel he has got those skills to sustain in these kind of leagues and maybe further go and play higher level of cricket."
It will be interesting to see if Arjun's performance in the previous game has convinced Rohit to continue using him at the death as well.