Former Sri Lankan all-rounder Russell Arnold praised Rohitt Sharma, saying the Inda captain leads from the front and he doesn’t need to say much to get his teammates to follow his vision ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup.
Arnold said India needed a different voice after their early exit from the T20 World Cup last year and they found it in Rohit. The former Sri Lankan cricketer’s comments came after India extended their winning streak in T20Is to a new record 10 after them hammered Sri Lanka by 62 runs in the first of a 3-match T20I series.
Rohit has not suffered defeat in T20Is since replacing Virat Kohli as India’s full-time T20I captain. After beating a New Zealand side 3-0 last year, India under their new captain beat the West Indies 3-0 earlier this month before extending their dominance over Sri Lanka.
Under Rohit, India appear to have made it clear they would take a much more aggressive approach in the opening 10 overs. It was evident how Rohit beat himself at the top of the order. On Thursday, Rohit hit a Quickfire 32-ball 44 and sewed a 111-run opening stand with Ishan Kishan, who won the match.
“Sometimes another voice is good for a team that needed India. I thought at this T20 World Cup the pressure of expectations seemed to wear them down. Now that it’s over everyone can express themselves. The captain himself.” , he generally leads from the front. We never felt like he was scoring, but he was scoring at a 140-150 batting average, which is exceptional,” Arnold told Star Sports.
“When someone can look that good and that cool, they really don’t have to say much. Everyone will follow him. The depth of the Indian lineup is there and that will make Rohit’s life a lot easier,” he added.
Rohit, who succeeded Virat Kohli as India’s full-time limited surplus captain last year, was also recently appointed Test captain.
ROHIT’S EXPERIENCE COMES THROUGH: GAVASKAR
Batsman Sunil Gavaskar praised Rohit Sharma for playing second fiddle to Ishan Kishan, who hit a game-winning 89 from just 56 balls in the first T20I against Sri Lanka, adding that the skipper used all his experience to build his explosive Letting opening partners through dominate their partnership.
“You want to start fast. That’s what you got from Rohit and Ishan. Rohit’s experience and skills as a captain came through because he wasn’t trying to surpass Ishan when he was batting well. He was happy to take singles and give Ishan the strike “, he added.
India recorded 199 on the board before limiting Sri Lanka to 137/6 in 20 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match T20I series.
