Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour has lauded Rohit Sharma as a shrewd captain. Speaking on the Taruwar Kohli podcast, Rathour has revealed that while Rohit might is known to be forgetful of his personal belongings, but he never forgets a gameplan.
Sharma forgetting things from his hotel rooms became a popular joke on social media after Virat Kohli had spilled the beans on him in ‘Breakfast With Champions’ podcast. Rathour, speaking on the same matter agreed that Rohit was indeed forgetful of names, iPads, phones and passports, but never forgot his gameplan in any of the matches while representing India.
“He might forget whether he has decided to bat or bowl at the toss, or his phone and iPad in the team bus but he never forgets his gameplan. He is very good at it and is a very shrewd tactician,” Rathour said on the podcast “Find a Way with Taruwar Kohli.”
“His first quality is that as a batsman, he is a phenomenal player. I think he is someone who understands his game really well. He always have a clear game plan,” said Rathour.
Rathour spoke about Rohit’s tactical acumen and said that the player invested a lot of time doing meetings with both batters and bowlers, trying to figure out how they wanted to approach the match. The former batting coach even claimed that he had never seen an India captain who was this highly invested in making strategies for the team.
“He is a player’s captain. He is invested with the players heavily. I have never seen a captain, who is so invested in team meetings and strategies. He spends a lot of time on the team’s strategy. He is part of the bowlers’ meeting, batters’ meeting. He wants to sit with the bowlers and batters to try and understand what they are thinking. He invests a lot of time with the players,” Rathour said.
The former coach took the example of the T20 World Cup Final – Rohit’s last game in the pT20I format. Rathour said that many were surprised by the decision of Rohit to finish Jasprit Bumrah’s overs early in the match, but that move essentially won India the game when Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh combined to win India the T20 World Cup 2024.
“He is tactically very good as a captain. In the T20 World Cup final, he finished Bumrah’s over early. A lot of people must have questioned that decision but that decision put us in the situation, where 16 was needed in the last over. His tactical decisions on the field are spot on. Sitting outside It surprises you as a coach as well. We from outside sometimes think what he is doing but then you realise what he has done after a while,” Rahtour concluded on the matter.