Rohit Sharma gives enough confidence to every player and brings out the best in them: Zaheer Khan

JioCinema expert Zaheer Khan spoke about Rohit Sharma’s contribution as a Test batsman and captain, and what can be expected from him in the India-England series on ‘Insiders Preview Ind vs Eng’ on JioCinema, Sports18.

Excerpts: 

On Rohit Sharma’s role as a leader 

Zaheer: Everyone knows of the influence and impact that Rohit has had on the whole group. He talks about communication. He gives enough confidence to every player and brings out the best in them. That has been the hallmark of his captaincy and he leads from the front as seen in the World Cup. He walks the talk. When you have a leader walking the talk, it gives you better efficiency within the whole group. So, I think he’s a proven leader.  

Rohit’s role as an opener 

Zaheer: Since the time Rohit has been an opener in Tests, he’s scored some brilliant hundreds in the toughest of conditions. You’ve seen him adapt nicely in England when it came to leaving the ball. He said that he had worked a lot on it. You’ve seen that in Chennai when he played a match-defining knock. Winning the toss, batting first and getting the opposition completely out in the first innings and being instrumental in that is something which gives satisfaction to any player, playing at the highest level.  

So, he’s had that kind of impact as well. You will see something on those line in this series. It’s a five-Test series so there’ll be a lot on his mind, not just as a batter but also as a leader. He has to work it out with Rahul Dravid and the selectors to see how he can rotate players. Both teams will be looking to do that because a five-Test series brings its own challenges and you got to be staying on top of that tactically, planning about the resources who are more useful in which conditions and get the maximum impact from every individual.