Hyderabad: Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour heaped praises for Rohit Sharma as he called him a shrewd captain and asserted that the latter will forget his things, but he never forgets a game plan.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma's habit of forgetting things has become a popular joke on social media as the batter has been seen saying words like 'yeh' (this) and 'woh' (that) on number of times while speaking at any event or press conferences. Earlier, former India captain Virat Kohli spilled the beans on him during his interview on the 'Breakfast With Champions' podcast, saying he will forget or miss at least one thing, it may be his phone, keys or even a passport as well.
Speaking on Taruwar Kohli's “Find a Way with Taruwar Kohli” podcast, Rathour revealed 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. “His first quality is that as a batsman, he is a phenomenal player. I think he is someone who understands his game well. He always has a clear game plan.”
Rathour, who was with the team India since the start of former head coach Ravi Shastri's tenure in 2017, spoke about the Indian captain even claiming that he had never seen an Indian captain who was this highly invested in making strategies for the team.
"He is a player’s captain. He is heavily invested with the players. 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 quipped.
The former coach took the example of the recently concluded 2024 T20 World Cup Final, which eventually became the 37-year-old's last game in the shortest format of the game. Rathour also 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 trophy.
“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 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," Rathour concluded on the matter.
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