Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel has recalled his time with Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL, as he hailed Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, saying the Indian skipper believes in taking instinctive decisions.
Citing how Rohit's support enabled Avesh Khan to produce match-winning figures of 2/17 in four overs in the fourth T20I match after a string of failures against the West Indies, Patel stated that his ability to support his out-of-form players distinguishes him as a captain.
Parthiv Patel said on his YouTube channel: “I have played under Rohit Sharma's captaincy at Mumbai Indians and the one thing that stands out is how he backs players who aren't performing. He is vocal about them even in public and in press conferences, as we saw with the case of Avesh Khan. Rohit backed him even after four failures and he delivered with a Man-of-the-Match performance.”
He continued, “Rohit believes in taking instinctive decisions on the ground rather than pre-meditating them. When a crunch situation arises, he takes a call according to the situation and it is one of the main reasons why he has won five IPL trophies with Mumbai Indians. India has also won multi-national tournaments like the Asia Cup and Nidahas Trophy under Rohit's captaincy.”
Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan recently led the Indian team to a 3-0 win in the ODI series against the West Indies. He also captained a second-string side on the Sri Lanka tour last year. Speaking about the senior opener’s captaincy, Parthiv said that his relaxed leadership style instills confidence in the players.
Patel said: “Shikhar Dhawan has a pretty laid-back style of captaincy where he doesn't take too much pressure and keeps the team atmosphere light. He does back his players, but most importantly he also gives them space to execute their own plans.”
He signed off by saying, “This is so important because captaining a team is difficult when the main players are rested. The fringe players need to be given confidence in executing their skills and Dhawan has done that really well.”
