India's all-format skipper Rohit Sharma has had an excellent start to his captaincy tenure. The team has performed exceptionally well since Rohit Sharma took over as captain from Virat Kohli, particularly in white-ball cricket, having recently defeated England in ODIs and T20Is by 2-1 and West Indies in the T20I series by 4-1.
These promising performances have led to comparisons between Rohit and his predecessors, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, among fans.
The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly described Sharma as a bit “laid-back” and also said that the star batter should be given ample time as the captain to produce the right results.
"Rohit Sharma is obviously a bit laid-back, who takes things in a very calm and cautious way and not someone who's into your face all the time," Ganguly said during the Bengal Peerless event on 'Leadership in Modern India' on Wednesday (August 17).
Ganguly, who himself led the Indian side to a number of memorable victories, also mentioned Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni - Rohit's predecessors who also had great success during their respective reigns.
"India has produced some great captains over the years. MS Dhoni who handled the transition fantastically, and continues to bring accolades not just for India but his franchise (Chennai Super Kings).
"Then came Virat Kohli who also has a fantastic record. He was a different sort of captain, he did things differently.”
He remarked that every individual has a different way of doing things and that he doesn't think captains should be compared.
"Every individual is different but what matters is the result and how many wins and losses you have. I don't compare captains, everybody has their way of leadership.
"We give responsibility to someone, then we want him to do the things the way we want it, and I think that's not correct. When you back someone let him captain, give him a bit of time to give results, and then see what happens," he added.
Talking about the 2003 World Cup final, when Ganguly opted to bowl first after winning the toss, a decision that may have come in for a bit of criticism as Australia piled up a gigantic 359/2 in 50 overs.
The Men in Yellow won their second consecutive World Cup by a massive margin of 125 runs.
"I don't think in retrospect. I was disappointed that I lost the final but I don't think toss was the reason to lose the final. We did not play well," he said.
When asked about FIFA's decision to ban Indian football, he remarked, "I don't deal with football so I won't be able to answer that question. But I think every sports body has a system, every sports body has its rules and regulations. We at BCCI also have rules and protocols."
(NDTV INPUTS)
