Former Indian talismanic batsman and arguably the greatest cricketer of all time, Sachin Tendulkar, seems very impressed with the leadership abilities of the newly appointed Indian T20I captain Rohit Sharma. Rohit is someone whom Sachin has seen from close quarters in the Mumbai Indians set up and he thinks the 34-year-old has got the ideal qualities of a leader.
According to Sachin Tendulkar, what’s most important for a leader in a high-pressure environment while playing elite international sport is to stay firmly in control when the pressure is on because during the pressure moments of the game, the players always look up to the captain and if the captain is composed, it rubs onto the other players as well.
Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians have won 5 IPL titles and out of the 5 finals, they have won two finals by a margin of one run each, which clearly suggests that Rohit has been in situations where he has to guide his team through fine margins and he has done it successfully, which a captain can’t do without utmost composure.
Sachin Tendulkar has been an IPL winner, playing under Rohit Sharma in 2013
Sachin also insisted, during his conversation with Hindustan Times, that apart from having the quality to stay firmly in charge and keep his emotions in check during the pressure moments, Rohit Sharma is also someone who reads the game well and has a smart perspective about different situations of the game, which allows him to take accurate decisions.
“He (Rohit) has a very smart cricketing brain and he is able to absorb pressure, is what I saw. That is important when you are leading the side,” Sachin Tendulkar said while talking to Hindustan Times.
Rohit Sharma had replaced Ricky Ponting as the captain of Mumbai Indians in the middle of the 2013 IPL season which was a huge decision for the franchise, but it turned out a masterstroke as Rohit didn’t just win the championship for Mumbai that season itself, he then went on to win 4 more IPL titles to become the most successful IPL captain of all time.
