“He’ll go down as one of the best captains ever alongside Dhoni” – Ravi Shastri hails Rohit Sharma

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has lauded Rohit Sharma, tipping him as one of the best captains ever alongside MS Dhoni. Rohit recently led to glory in the T20 World Cup 2024 in Barbados, breaking the team’s major ICC title hoodoo of more than a decade.

Rohit decided to retire from T20Is after leading India to World Cup triumph. Meanwhile, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are regarded as one of the best leaders in the game. Dhoni and Rohit also led Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles each, respectively.

While Suryakumar Yadav has taken over the T20I captaincy, Rohit will continue to lead the team in ODIs as well as Test matches.

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

The former Indian all-rounder lauded Rohit for getting the best out of his players and making the right bowling changes at the right time in the T20I showpiece.

“Rohit is not far behind and I thought tactically he was just outstanding in this year’s (T20) World Cup. Just the calmness, the ability to get a (Jasprit) Bumrah or a (Hardik) Pandya, or even an Axar Patel at just the right time when needed was great to see,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rohit also led from the front in the T20 World Cup, scoring 257 runs in eight matches. Shastri noted that Rohit will make the cut into the white-ball team of any era.

“I think a giant in the white-ball game,” said Shastri. “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,” Shastri opined on the aforementioned program.

“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,” Shastri concluded.

Rohit Sharma will lead India in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.