Batting great Sunil Gavaskar showered blockbuster praise on India captain Rohit Sharma after the veteran guided India to a T20 World Cup title last week. By doing so, Rohit joined an elite list of India captains to lift a World Cup. He is only the third India captain after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni to lift a World Cup. The 37-year-old also enjoyed a decent tournament with the bat, scoring 257 runs in eight matches at an average of 36.71. While Virat Kohli was named ‘Player of the Match’ in the final, star pacer Jasprit Bumrah took home the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award.
Bumrah was instrumental with the ball throughout the tournament, taking 15 wicket, inlcuding two in the final. On being asked to pick his standout performer of the tournament, Gavaskar suggested that while Bumrah deserves all the praise, Rohit’s captaincy is what stood out according to him.
“There were several. If you have a look at what this team did, they were champions in every different field. So while there was ‘Player of the Tournament’. Jasprit Bumrah, who absolutely totally deserved to be the ‘Player of the Tournament’, the main man running the show was Rohit Sharma. So Rohit’s captaincy is something that has to be admired because never once during tense situations did his body language go down,” Gavaskar told Sports Today.
Gavaskar backed his claim by saying that Rohit’s body language throughout the tournament was exemplary.
“Yes, we have all got used to some of his grimaces and stuff like that, but that’s okay…The way he handled the situation when it was not looking good for India, that is deserving of the highest praise. That is why his captaincy was the standout Indian performance of the tournament for me,” he added.
During the felicitation and celebration event at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, Rohit said, “This trophy is for the entire nation. Along with all the players who have represented the country, we want to dedicate it to our fans, who have waited for 11 years.”
“Mumbai never disappoints. We got a solid reception. On behalf of the team, we would like to thank the fans. I am very, very happy and relieved,” he added.
