Rohit’s tactical acumen on par with MS Dhoni: Ravi Shastri

PTI, Aug 1, 2024, 1:06 PM IST

Mumbai: Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s tactical acumen puts him on par with the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni in white ball formats in which he will go down as a batting giant across the eras, reckoned former head coach Ravi Shastri.

Rohit recently guided India to their second T20 World Cup title with a win over South Africa in the final at Barbados, breaking a more than decade-long title drought in ICC event

Rohit has overtaken former skipper Dhoni as the most successful T20I captain with 49 wins in 62 matches. Dhoni had led India to 41 victories in 72 games.

“As a tactician, let’s not forget that he’s (Rohit) been an outstanding guy. He’ll go down as one of the best captains ever alongside Dhoni,” Shastri said on the ICC Review.

Dhoni captained India to success in three ICC tournaments — the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, the 2011 Cricket World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

“If you ask me who’s better, I’d say both are on par when it comes to tactics in the white-ball game. I can’t pay a bigger compliment to Rohit than that because you know what MS (Dhoni) has done and the titles he has won.”

“Rohit is not far behind and I thought tactically he was just outstanding in this year’s (T20) World Cup,” Shastri added.

India, under Rohit, won eight out of their nine matches with one ending without a result during the T20 World Cup in the Americas.

“Just the calmness, the ability to get a (Jasprit) Bumrah or a (Hardik) Pandya, or even an Axar Patel at just the right time was great to see (in the T20 World Cup),” said Shastri.

Rohit’s tactical acumen came to the fore during the World Cup final when the Proteas required just 30 runs off 30 balls to win, as India came up with a stunning comeback to defend the total.

Pacer Jasprit Bumrah bowled two tight overs, while Hardik Pandya took an important wicket when all seemed lost and Suryakumar Yadav came up with a peach of a catch to dismiss David Miller in the final over.

Shastri also praised Rohit’s batting saying he is one of the best to have ever played the white-ball format.

“I think a giant in the white-ball game. One of the all-time greats. One of the best who have ever played. Will walk into any white-ball team they pick, irrespective of the era. Just because of the dynamic ability he has at the top,” said Shastri about Rohit, who bowed out of T20Is following the World Cup success.

Rohit has scored 14,846 runs, three double tons, 33 hundreds, and 87 fifties in ODIs and T20Is besides being a two-time ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (2007 and 2024) and the ICC Champions Trophy winner (2013) and holds the record for the most sixes in the shortest format.

“The thing with Rohit Sharma is he plays the big shots, he scores quickly, but they’re all cricketing shots. What amazes me, there’s not an element of sloppiness. I mean, it just shows how much time he has on his hands to play the best and the power — people forget that this man is explosive. He’s got power.”

The brute power Rohit packs in his shots while coming at the top of the order has helped him score the joint-most T20I centuries — five — alongside Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell.

“Just see the scores in that period of time. Three double hundreds in the one-day game. He’s got hundreds in T20 cricket,” said Shastri.

He said that what set Rohit apart was his explosive batting and his mastery over short-pitched balls.

“Compared to Virat Kohli, you know, Kohli is more finesse, he’s starts along the ground. This man (Rohit) is explosive. He’s got the power to clear any ground in the world and take on the fast bowlers. He’s got the shots for the quicks and he can destroy spin as well.”