Opinion

Rohit Sharma not an instinctive captain, he does his homework: Mahela Jayawardene

Written by Abhishek Patil

Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene feels that Rohit Sharma’s success as a leader lies in the fact that India’s limited-overs vice-captain gathers a lot of information about his opponents and his decisions are weighed carefully.

Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Rohit Sharma is the most successful captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with four titles to his name (5 as a player), with MS Dhoni of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) being second with three.

Rohit is not far behind when it comes to winning percentage as well. In 104 matches, Rohit has managed to win 60 as captain with a win percentage of 58.65.

“He (Rohit) is an instinctive leader for sure. But at the same time Rohit gathers a lot of information as well, I think that’s his strength,” Jayawardene said on ‘Sony Ten Pit Stop’ show aired on Sony Sports Instagram page.

Former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene likes India’s white-ball vice-captain’s ability to gather information about opponents.

“Ro (as he is referred by Mahela) does get a lot of information and he likes to know things. And he uses that out there in the middle.

“That’s how he reacts and all that. Even though everyone thinks he is instinctively making those calls, but that information is there.”

Rohit’s inquisitive mind is also an indicator how much he thinks about the game.

“He comes and asks questions…sometimes you walk into the team room for us to do some analysing and you see Rohit the analyst, just looking through certain stuff and all that….so like that he gets those little snippets from the guys, so he is prepared..,” added the former Sri Lanka captain.

So it’s the preparation which helps in building an instinct.

“So as long as you are prepared and you are instinctively making those calls and being proactive, that’s all what you can ask from him and Ro (hit) is brilliant in that,” said the Sri Lankan batting great.

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Abhishek Patil