Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour has praised Indian captain Rohit Sharma, calling him a "shrewd tactician". He also revealed in an interview to Taruwar Kohli that Rohit tends to forget stuff particularly at the toss and with his personal belongings, but never the team's gameplan.
The Indian captain had built up this reputation of being forgetful after his India teammate Virat Kohli revealed the same to Gaurav Kapoor on the popular podcast 'Breakfast with Champions', talking about incidents where the latter had forgotten his passport and iPads, before leaving the team hotel.
This was proven to be right during the toss ahead of the ODI match against New Zealand, in early 2023, where he had forgotten if the team should bat first or bowl first.
🚨 Toss Update 🚨#TeamIndia win the toss and elect to field first in the second #INDvNZ ODI.
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 21, 2023
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Rathour, who had served as Team India's batting coach under Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid, was part of the support staff, when India went on to win the T20 World Cup 2024 in Barbados.
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What did Vikram Rathour say about India captain Rohit Sharma?
Talking on the "Find a Way with Taruwar Kohli' podcast, the former Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour discussed about the forgetful nature of Rohit Sharma, agreeing with Virat Kohli's revelations a couple of years ago.
However, Rathour added that when it came to gameplan and tactics, the Indian skipper has always spot on leading the team on the field.
"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," he said.
"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 has a clear game plan," Rathour added.
Rohit, who has been praised by several of his teammates both at the Indian team and with the Mumbai Indians, for his hands-on approach with each of his players as captain, has been one of the most successful captains in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and with India.
"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.
Rohit was redeemed as a captain following India's T20 World Cup 2024 victory, as India had finally got their hands on an ICC trophy after over a decade.
In the Final at Barbados, he made crucial decisions especially with his excellent use of Jasprit Bumrah, which turned the tide of the game in India's favour.
"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," he concluded.
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