After leading India to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 triumph against Australia, Rohit Sharma said he is still learning as a captain with each passing game and try to keep things simple.
Rohit was handed India’s Test captaincy after Virat Kohli stepped down from the position in January 2022. As of today, he has led the country to only six Tests at home.
"I am still learning as a captain in every game that I have captained. I have captained a lot in T20 cricket, more than the other formats but Test cricket I am only six matches old in terms of captaincy. I am still learning and guys around me have played a lot of cricket and they are there to help," Rohit told reporters at the end of the fourth Test in Ahmedabad.
"Whenever I lead the team, I try to keep it very simple. That's always been my focus to not try and do something absolutely weird. Just keep it simple because it's a longer version of the game and you need to keep patience.
"You need to be able to make the right decision and for that you need to stay calm on the field. And those are the things I always think of when I am captaining the team. Still, like I said, I am learning about my captaincy. I am enjoying," he added.
Rohit acknowledged that he made some mistakes in this series but now wants to learn from the same and doesn’t repeat it again.
"I am quite enjoying this period of me leading the team. There have been some challenges as well. I was challenged as a captain as well and when you are playing a series like this, you are bound to make mistakes.
"I did make some mistakes but that's how you learn and try and not repeat those mistakes again and again. I am still discovering new things about how I want to take the team forward."
After winning the first two Tests in Nagpur and Delhi, India suffered a nine-wicket defeat in the third Test in Indore. As the fourth Test in Ahmedabad ended in a draw, India clinched the series 2-1.
When asked to analyse India's victory in the series, Rohit hilariously said: "Chaar Test match. Pura karna hai (analyse) kyaa? Nagpur se yehaan taak. Main toh 3 Test matches se karte aa raha hoon (You want me to analyse again, right from Nagpur to this game. I have been doing that for the last three games)."
Virat Kohli ended his much-talked-about century drought in the longest format on Day 4 of the Ahmedabad Test against Australia.
Kohli, who hasn’t hit a Test ton since November 2019, scored 186 to help the hosts take a crucial first-innings lead of 91 runs.
Commenting on Kohli, Rohit said: "Look, he played more than 100 Tests, got so many hundreds, for a player like him, it's a few innings here and there. We saw in white ball cricket, we saw in the Asia Cup, he scored that 100 and never looked back. I hope it will be the same with the red ball as well."
"It's about going out there and applying yourself and doing the same things. He (Kohli) did pretty well and he did his own things rather than worrying about the scoreboard and he just batted the way he bats. Usually that's what got him success," he explained.
(With PTI Inputs)
