Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar is impressed with Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma’s method of handling youngsters in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Speaking after MI’s victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gavaskar said Rohit’s methods are proving to be successful.
On Tuesday (April 18), rookie pacer Arjun Tendulkar was tasked to defend 20 runs off the final over against SRH and he conceded only 5 runs to secure MI’s 14-run victory. In the process, he also claimed his maiden IPL wicket by dismissing Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
"Sometimes, they say throw somebody in the deep end. That’s when a person learns how to swim. And that’s what he seems to be doing. Giving the crucial overs to the younger bowlers, at the same time, showing faith and control on guys who have done it before," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
"Look at the way he was encouraging, he went on and gave him a hug to Arjun Tendulkar. Getting a hug from a captain, who is a 10-12 years your senior is a huge thing. It shows that the captain, thinks highly of you, trusts in you and he wants you to succeed," he added
"What Rohit Sharma does as captain, he gives the players a relaxed feeling, much in the mould of super cool MSD (Dhoni). Maybe, not quite there. Occasionally he gets a bit upset with lapses in fielding. But it’s a totally relaxed fielding. I guess that’s the mood in the dressing room," he further said.
While Arjun Tendulkar impressed one and all with his death overs bowling, he also bowled a couple of overs in the powerplay and gave away just 12 runs. The left-armer got the new ball to move and returned with the stunning figures of 1 for 18 in his 2.5 overs.
Praising the great Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun, Gavaskar recalled how he felt when his son Rohan Gavaskar made his debut for India in 2004.
"I have been there. I can tell you that the first match that Rohan played for India was at the Gabba. He came into bat in the 5th ball of the 50th over. At the other end, Laxman was batting for 99. All that I was thinking was he should not get bowled out. Even if he gets out, it should not be bowled or LBW, but can be caught so as to allow Laxman to cross," Gavaskar said while speaking on Star Sports.
"He took a single and Laxman got back on strike on the last ball and he hit a boundary and got a hundred. For me, that nervousness was about the first ball. I didn't want him to get out because Laxman would have been stranded on 99.
"Yes, there is always that anxiety to see your son playing because you are helpless. You have seen him work hard, you have seen him practice, you have seen him wake up early and go for that training. You have seen all that. You know the efforts have been there. Success and failure is not your hand, but hard work is," he remarked.
Gavaskar pointed out similarities between Arjun and Sachin while also terming the junior Tendulkar as a thinking cricketer.
"I know that Arjun Tendulkar has put in the hard work and that's why he is beginning to reap the rewards for the hard work he has put in. Everybody talks about the amazing talent Sachin Tendulkar had at the start of his career. But it was his temperament that was absolutely amazing, and Arjun seems to have inherited that. He seems to be a shrewd thinker as well. It's always a good sign when a youngster is bowling the final over for the team and delivering," Gavaskar said.
