Rahul Dravid hails Rohit Sharma for leading India’s white-ball evolution

Batting legend Rahul Dravid on Tuesday (January 27) hailed batter Rohit Sharma for leading India’s white-ball evolution culminating in the T20 World Cup victory in 2024.

Speaking at the launch of the book ‘The Rise of the HITMAN – The Rohit Sharma Story’ by senior journalist and contributor to The Federal, R Kaushik, Dravid provided insights into Rohit’s leadership and his batting in T20 cricket.

Also read: Exclusive interview with Rahul Dravid

With Dravid as the coach and captain Rohit, India won the T20 World Cup 2024. Now, another edition of the World Cup will be played in India and Sri Lanka from February 7.

‘India playing at a different level’

Dravid opined that India would go in as favourites for T20 World Cup 2026, saying they were playing “at a different level”.

“India are playing T20 cricket at a different level than most teams. They have had an 80 per cent success rate in the last few years, which is amazing in a format that has so many ups and downs. They clearly start as favourites and they will make it to the semi-finals but as I have learned to my bitter disappointment, it’s about the better team on the day. Anybody can play a good knock and upset you.” Dravid said.

Dravid credited Rohit for steering India into a new avatar in T20 format. “There was a feeling that we were slightly behind in white-ball cricket and needed to push the envelope a little more. Run rates were going up, risk-taking was increasing, and we needed to adapt to that reality,” Dravid remarked.

He added, “What was brilliant was that Rohit took the lead immediately. He took responsibility for setting the tempo himself, rather than asking others to do it. When your leader stands up and says, ‘I will do this, even if it comes at the cost of my average or my personal numbers,’ it becomes much easier to pass that message through the team.”

Rohit’s transition to leadership

Speaking on Rohit’s transition into leadership of the Indian team, Dravid said, “I thought Rohit managed the transition into leadership really well. The team never felt that he had changed, and that is a rare and important quality in a leader.”

Dravid’s former teammate and Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) President, Venkatesh Prasad, joined virtually to reflect on his association with Rohit across different phases of his career. He hailed Rohit’s achievements and longevity at the highest level.

“Being conferred with the Padma Shri is a huge achievement and Rohit Sharma fully deserves it. Having played for so many years across formats and created an extraordinary body of work, he stands out as the only Indian player to have won two T20 World Cups,” Prasad said.

‘Rohit should have played 100 Tests’

Reflecting on his days coaching Sharma in the Under-19 set-up, Prasad added, “I have been seeing Rohit from the time he was 16 or 17 when he played for the India Under-19 team. Even then, you could see the sheer of talent and potential. What struck me from the very beginning was how much time he had to play his shots. You can easily compare Rohit Sharma with any of the greats that India has produced. That is the quality of batter we are talking about.”

Prasad said Rohit’s batting reminded him of Australia’s Mark Waugh. He felt Rohit should have played 100 Tests for India.