Rohit Sharma is a natural leader: Mahela Jayawardene

Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene is all set to take up his new role at a new place. Jayawardene was recently named as the head coach of the Mumbai Indians franchise in the IPL. He was definitely delighted with the news and accepted the offer made to him. He will be filling in the void left by the former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting. In a recent interaction on social media platform Twitter, Jayawardene spoke at various prospects of his new role.

Mahela Jayawardene has been a very successful player in the Indian Premier League. Now, the fans will see him sit in the dugout and don the new cap as the coach. Replacing Ricky Ponting as the head coach will definitely not be an easy task. He was asked about how he wishes to make the transition of being the coach. A tweet asked, “.@MahelaJay Replacing Ricky is a huge task. How do you plan on making the transition? #QandAWithMahela.”

.@MahelaJay Replacing Ricky is a huge task. How do you plan on making the transition? #QandAWithMahela

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) November 19, 2016

The veteran Sri Lankan batsman made it clear that he wishes to keep things simple. His agenda is to make a smooth transition into the role. He tweeted, “Smooth as possible.. Ricky has done a great job. I will look to continue that good work and add value to the team.”

Smooth as possible.. Ricky has done a great job. I will look to continue that good work and add value to the team. https://t.co/TiQ1yTZApX

— Mahela Jayawardena (@MahelaJay) November 19, 2016

Mahela Jayawardene was further in all praise for the Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma. The captain and coach duo of Rohit and Ricky have done wonders for the franchise. They won the title back in 2015. Speaking about Rohit Sharma as a player, he said that the Mumbai batsman is a gifted one. He is a great leader. “@MahelaJay what are ur views about Rohit Sharma’s captaincy? @mipaltan #QandAWithMahela,” was the question.

@MahelaJay what are ur views about Rohit Sharma's captaincy?@mipaltan
#QandAWithMahela

— Vaishu ❤ (@vaishali_45) November 19, 2016

Mahela was quick to reply with a tweet saying, “”Think he is a natural leader like the way he bats. Gifted player.”

Think he is a natural leader like the way he bats. Gifted player. https://t.co/nj1ONGKeTr

— Mahela Jayawardena (@MahelaJay) November 19, 2016

He also spoke about his excitement towards working with Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar has been a legend of the game and has been the chief mentor of the Mumbai Indians ever since he retired from the game. Mahela said that it will be a lot of experience in the Mumbai Indians support staff.

@mipaltan #QandAWithMahela @MahelaJay How excited are you to be working alongside @sachin_rt ?

— Ashok (@AshokRaghavan) November 19, 2016

He wrote, “Very happy to work alongside Sachin. He is part of MI family as well. Lot of experience to call upon.” Lastly, he concluded saying that Mumbai has a huge fan base. Perhaps, the biggest fan base in IPL belongs to Mumbai Indians. He is looking forward to this new role. He tweeted, “MI has the best fan base in the IPL and look forward to the support at home and away games next season.”

.@MahelaJay Any message for our fans out here? #QandAWithMahela

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) November 19, 2016

MI has the best fan base in the IPL and look forward to the support at home and away games next season. ? https://t.co/eaVDevrWqX

— Mahela Jayawardena (@MahelaJay) November 19, 2016