7 months ago
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On October 7, astatine a prestigious sports awards ceremonial successful Mumbai, Rohit Sharma received a peculiar honour – a designation for captaining India to Champions Trophy glory, the nation’s 2nd successive ICC limited-overs rubric wrong a year. The applause was thunderous, the tributes heartfelt, but the timing ironic.
Days earlier, Rohit’s captaincy epoch successful Indian cricket had officially drawn to a close. His enactment had already faded from the Indian Premier League (IPL) scenery earlier the 2024 season. He had retired from T20 internationals minutes aft lifting the T20 World Cup successful Barbados. And successful aboriginal 2025, helium called clip connected his illustrious Test career, leaving conscionable the ODIs, the format that had defined his improvement arsenic 1 of India’s greats.
On October 4, main selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed what galore had expected – Shubman Gill would win Rohit arsenic India’s ODI captain. The announcement, symbolising a generational shift, brought the curtain down connected 1 of the astir palmy and transformative tenures successful India’s white-ball history.
Leader of galore hues
Rohit captained India for the archetypal clip successful 2017 arsenic a stand-in person successful some limited-overs formats. He had already established himself arsenic a serial victor successful the IPL, starring Mumbai Indians to 3 titles. That acquisition had toughened him, sharpened his cricketing instincts, and earned him the estimation of a tactician with some imaginativeness and patience.
When Virat Kohli opted retired of the 2018 Asia Cup, the selectors, successful consultation with manager Ravi Shastri, had small hesitation successful handing Rohit the responsibility. What followed successful the United Arab Emirates that September was a defining chapter.
Rohit was astatine the helm erstwhile India won the Asia Cup successful 2018. | Photo Credit: AFP
Rohit marshalled his squad with clarity and composure, recalibrated the batting bid and bowling plans aft Hardik Pandya’s injury, and inspired India to yet different continental triumph. It wasn’t conscionable the crown that mattered – it was the method. His calmness nether pressure, willingness to backmost players beyond accepted logic, and the knack for mounting attacking fields without being reckless – each became hallmarks of the Rohit Sharma blueprint.
However, dissimilar Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit was ne'er the silent, inscrutable fig successful charge. He was expressive – often gesturing to fielders, often successful speech with bowlers, and occasionally animated erstwhile a program went awry. Yet, beneath the exterior that often trended connected societal media, was an astute cricketing caput that operated with near-mathematical precision.
He was vocal, yes, but not overbearing. He listened. Bowlers nether him often spoke astir however Rohit’s top spot laic successful not forcing his sentiment – successful letting the bowler ain the program adjacent if it went against the textbook.
In a squad afloat of superstars and large egos, Rohit’s humility and humour acted arsenic equalisers. The dressing room, erstwhile fragmented by individualism, began to bespeak the captain’s temperament – focused, aware, but ever light-hearted capable to sorb pressure.
The large reset
When Rohit and Rahul Dravid took implicit the reins successful 2022, Indian cricket was astatine a crossroads. The squad was strong, but the methods had begun to creak. The semifinal decision successful the 2022 T20 World Cup to England successful Adelaide was a wake-up call, and Rohit confronted it head-on.
He candidly admitted that India was connected the verge of being outdated successful T20 cricket. More importantly, helium didn’t fell down statistic oregon excuses. He initiated a reboot – some successful mindset and squad structure.
The operation of Rohit and Dravid ended India’s drought successful ICC events successful 2024. | Photo Credit: ANI
The attack to batting changed from accumulation to acceleration. The top-order began to instrumentality risks, and the middle-order was built for flexibility alternatively than relation rigidity. He didn’t conscionable preach “fearless cricket” – helium embodied it, walking retired to unfastened the innings with the licence to spell hard from shot one.
If India’s 2022-23 play was astir uncovering that rhythm, 2023-24 was astir mastering it. The T20 World Cup triumph successful June 2024 that ended an 11-year ICC trophy drought was some vindication and farewell. Rohit’s fearless 39-ball 57 successful the semifinal against England – played with wantonness and intent – became symbolic of the doctrine helium had championed.
ODI Maestro
Months earlier, the aforesaid attack had ended up haunting him. Having gotten India disconnected to a flier successful the 2023 World Cup last against Australia connected location soil, a unreserved of humor resulted successful Rohit losing his wicket and India the plot. Nevertheless, if T20s showcased Rohit’s reformist zeal, ODIs reflected the mastery.
Few Indian cricketers person understood the tempo of the 50-over format rather similar him. From his 3 double-centuries to his uncanny quality to work lucifer situations, Rohit’s ODI bequest was already unafraid agelong earlier helium wore the captain’s armband.
As a leader, helium added a furniture of tactical brilliance. He rotated his bowlers smartly, preserved onslaught bowlers for cardinal overs, and often acceptable unorthodox fields, peculiarly against left-handers. His usage of spinners successful the mediate overs, a throwback to India’s 1990s approach, wrested backmost power successful a format progressively skewed towards batters.
Under him, India reached the 2023 World Cup acme clash with a near-flawless tally – lone to falter astatine the past measurement successful Ahmedabad. Yet, adjacent that heartbreak was marked by admiration for the marque of cricket his broadside had played – attacking, businesslike and team-first. In defeat, Rohit’s mature enactment stood out. There was nary deflection, nary dramatics – lone acknowledgment of the opponent’s superiority and quiescent pridefulness successful his team’s consistency.
Beyond tactics and trophies, what distinguished Rohit was his empathy. He was a skipper who noticed erstwhile a youngster was nervous, cracked a gag to lighten the huddle earlier a large pursuit and publically backed out-of-form players. For those similar Suryakumar Yadav, Gill, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj, Rohit wasn’t conscionable a skipper – helium was a mentor who made them judge that they belonged.
Agent of change
Rohit’s affectional quality often went under-appreciated, overshadowed by his effortless six-hitting oregon his meme-worthy property conferences. But wrong the ecosystem of Indian cricket, it was transformative.
From 2017 to 2025, Rohit led India successful 118 limited-overs internationals, winning implicit three-fourths of those. He became the lone Indian skipper aft Dhoni to assistance 2 ICC trophies.
Yet, his bequest cannot beryllium confined to win-loss ratios. He changed however India approached white-ball cricket. He proved that enactment neither needed to beryllium large to beryllium effectual nor dictatorial to beryllium decisive. He reminded a cricket-mad federation that strategy and psyche could co-exist.
As the baton passes to Gill, the travel comes afloat ellipse for Rohit – from an anxious understudy to the heir apparent, from the ‘Hitman’ to the headman, and yet to the elder statesman who near the squad richer successful individuality and belief.
He mightiness not person captained for arsenic agelong arsenic Kohli oregon amassed arsenic galore titles arsenic Dhoni, but successful redefining India’s limited-overs ethos, Rohit ensured his sanction would beryllium etched alongside.
And arsenic helium stood connected that awards signifier – leaner, composed and smiling knowingly – it wasn’t conscionable an honour helium received. It was an acknowledgement that his legacy, similar his lofted propulsion implicit mid-wicket, volition enactment live successful India’s corporate cricketing representation for a long, agelong time.
