A Batter Of His Quality Is Always Needed In Indian Squad: Rohit Sharma On Virat Kohli

Having become India's new white-ball captain, Rohit Sharma said that a batter of Virat Kohli's calibre will be required in the squad along with his leadership skills. Rohit had led India in the three-match T20I series against New Zealand but was appointed as full-time limited overs captain on Wednesday. The Mumbai Indians (MI) cricketer also feels that a captain's job is 20 percent on the field and the rest depends at the planning stage where he would like his men to be prepared for the worst, especially keeping crunch situations in major ICC event encounters in mind.

"A batter of his quality is always needed in the squad. To have an average of 50 plus in the T20 format, it is crazy and unreal. Obviously, with the experience, he batted and bailed India out so many times from difficult situations," Rohit said during YouTube show 'Backstage with Boria'.

He has five trophies with Mumbai Indians but he believes that he had very little role in the success as team management had created a formidable unit.

What's the plan at 10/3 in major games

Rohit said he can't pinpoint on what exactly went wrong in the last three ICC events, 2017 Champions Trophy final, 2019 World Cup semi-final and this year's T20 World Cup.

"It was the initial phase where we lost. I want to see that we prepare for the worst like a 10 for 3 situation. That's how I want to move forward and guys batting at Nos 3, 4, 5 and 6 should be prepared. Nowhere it's written that from 10/3, you can't score 190."

"Suppose we are 10/2 in first two overs. What do we do? What is the plan? I want to put ourselves in that situation. We have got some games (ahead of T20 WC) to try and test that."

For Rohit it has happened thrice - twice against Pakistan and once versus New Zealand.

"The quality of bowling (in these matches) has been exceptional. It has happened three times. Hope it does not happen for the fourth time," he said.

In their 2021 T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan, India lost by 10 wickets with Rohit getting dismissed for a golden duck. Meanwhile his opening partner KL Rahul also lost his wicket after facing eight deliveries. The duo were sent back to the dugout by Shaheen Shah Afridi, who also took the scalp of Virat Kohli. India could only post 151 for seven in 20 overs, which Pakistan crossed with ease in 17.5 overs.

The Men in Blue also lost to the Blackcaps which ended their hopes of qualifying for the knockouts.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli Cricket