Jaipur: Ahead of the three T20Is against New Zealand, India’s new T20 vice-captain KL Rahul Monday said Rohit Sharma is a shrewd captain and he will bring tactical acumen as well a lot of calmness into the dressing room.
The upcoming T20 home series against the Black Caps will start a new era in Indian cricket under the leadership of Rohit Sharma and the coaching of Dravid. The 29-year old Rahul said that India’s new T20 captain Rohit is already a proven leader, having captained Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles.
“There’s nothing new about Rohit being captain. For as long as I can remember, he’s been Mumbai Indians’ captain, and his stats are there for everybody to see. He has a great understanding of the game and tactically he’s really, really good, and that’s why he’s been able to achieve the kind of things that he has as a leader,” said Rahul at a press conference ahead of the first T20 on Wednesday.
“We all enjoy watching Rohit bat and we all enjoy having him in the dressing room. He’s a great guy to be around, so I’m sure he’s excited and all of us in the team is excited to play under Rohit and he’ll bring a lot of calm into the dressing room,” he added.
The vice-captain also mentioned that it will be exciting to understand and see what kind of goals Rohit has for the Indian cricket team.
“The next few weeks or the next few days will be exciting, to understand what kind of goals he has and what kind of culture and – I got asked this question before – what kind of template we’re looking to play,” the opener said.
“The more we talk to him in the next couple of days, I’ll also understand it better and maybe be able to give you that answer the next time I have this conversation. It’s a big change in Indian cricket, so we’re all looking forward and really excited about it,” he added.
Talking about his own role as vice-captain, Rahul said he would try to work with the rest of the leadership group to build a secure team environment for the players.
“I think it’s a collective effort. Whatever happens in a team sport, it’s always a collective decision, and the leadership group becomes really important in making sure that everybody’s feeling comfortable, everybody is clear about their roles, everybody is feeling secure in the team,” he said.
“And, I think that will be an exciting challenge for all of us, to create that kind of environment, and we’re really looking forward to it,” he added.