"When you win so many IPL trophies, your caliber of making crunch decisions comes out" - RP Singh on Rohit Sharma's evolution as captain
Former Indian pacer RP Singh heaped praise on Rohit Sharma's leadership ability. The 35-year-old was appointed as Team India's captain across all three formats earlier this year and is expected to lead for the first time in an ICC event during the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Sharma was handed leadership responsibilities in stages after Virat Kohli stepped down as captain of the T20I and Test teams. The Mumbai-born batter has hardly put a step wrong since assuming the captaincy, especially in the shortest format of the game. The Men in Blue have only lost two T20Is since the culmination of the previous World Cup.
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Opining that Rohit Sharma's captaincy stint with his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) has helped him, RP Singh said in an interaction with journalist Vimal Kumar:
"Rohit has improved over the years, because when you win so many IPL trophies, your caliber of making crunch decisions comes out. He has obviously done well with the bat, but he has done a good job of planning as captain and making sure that the team executes it on the field."
Sharma took over from Ricky Ponting in the 2013 season of the IPL and has gone onto lead the franchise to five titles. He became a prominent candidate for the captaincy role as he had previously led India on sporadic occasions when Virat Kohli was rested from the side.
"No one was close to Virat Kohli, when it comes to his performances during his peak" - RP Singh
Amid the buzzing atmosphere ahead of the highly-anticipated encounter between India and Pakistan, Virat Kohli's form comes as a probing concern for India. The former Indian skipper was rested from the team's tour of the Caribbean and Zimbabwe for an apparent reset.
Runs have been hard to come by for the 33-year-old so far this year, evident by his poor run-tally in the 2022 IPL and then during India's tour of England.
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Saying that Kohli only needs one good knock to return to form, RP Singh stated:
"Every player goes through a bad patch, you cannot play with the same consistency for your entire career. No one was close to Virat Kohli, when it comes to his performances during his peak."
RP Singh drove home his point by saying:
"He is a big match player, there is no doubt about it, he only needs one good knock."
The ace batter will be raring to go against Pakistan later today, considering his good record against the Babar Azam-led side. The two teams will face off at the Dubai International Stadium to begin their respective Asia Cup campaigns.
Will Rohit Sharma lead India to their third successive Asia Cup title? Let us know what you think.