India’s star opening batsman Rohit Sharma’s childhood coach Dinesh Lad has heaped praise on the swashbuckling batsman for his leadership skills, saying the Mumbai Indians’(MI) captain has the leadership qualities right from the school days after he led the side to fifth IPL title.
Rohit has impressed one and all with his captaincy after guiding MI to its record fifth title triumph on the 10th of November in the UAE, including his childhood coach, not only his brilliant captaincy in the IPL but also at the highest level when the opportunity comes.
After MI’s IPL 2020 trophy triumph over Delhi Capitals in Dubai on Tuesday, Lad lauded Rohit – who hit a half-century in the final, saying the cricketer never succumbs to captaincy pressure, rather, relishes the responsibility, and proved his qualities both as captain and batsman.
Lad told PTI on Wednesday: “He always thought of winning and never thought about losing. When he was given the responsibility to lead Mumbai Indians, he proved his qualities and that became a plus point in his career. His responsibility increased and not the pressure.”
He also recalled whenever he had given Rohit the opportunity to lead in school cricket and he rarely failed, saying: “I had sensed his leadership qualities right from the school days. I remember the time in school cricket when I had asked him to lead the team, he used to single-handedly win games.”
Lad further said, “On one instance, the team was 30-40 for five or six and he had opened the innings in pursuit of 220-230. I was nervous and thought that we had lost the game. I conveyed a message to him to take the match till the end, he replied saying 'I will ensure that we win the game' and we eventually won it.”
There were demands that Rohit should lead the Indian team in Tests in Australia in Virat Kohli's absence, and Lad also said he will do good when the opener was given a chance.
The coach further said on the query, “I can’t say anything on it. It is up to the BCCI and the selectors. If Rohit is given a chance to lead then he will do good as seen in the past when he has captained India in few tournaments like Nidahas trophy, where we have emerged champions.”
Lad signed off by saying, “I can't say Rohit should be made the captain. But if he is given (the opportunity), then he also can also prove something. Virat is more aggressive while Rohit is calm and composed. He leads with a cool head.”
(With PTI Inputs)
