AYE, AYE CAPTAIN

Understanding the need for an aggressive approach, Sharma has taken it upon himself to be the change in the last two years

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

AFTER Rohit Sharma took over as India's T20 captain following a below-par showing at the 2021 World Cup, he wanted to see a change in attitude of the players. Mainly, he wanted the batting group to be more enterprising, to be more proactive. The Men In Blues' conservative approach (preserving wickets before exploding at the back end) had exposed them on the global stage a few times. So, Rohit put down a gauntlet.

"After the T20 World Cup in Dubai, we felt that there needs to be a change in our attitude," he had said on a TV show. "...

how we play the game. We had a clear message and they were ready to accept it. If the messages are clear from the captain and the coach, individuals will try and do that. For that, they need freedom and clarity which is what we are trying to do. We are trying to give them as much freedom as possible." That message applied to Rohit himself. In both white ball formats.

This was going to be a challenge because he wasn't that sort of batter. Sure, he was already a giant of 50-over cricket but most of his exploits had come on the back of watchful starts before picking up steam in the second part of the innings. The guy with three doubles in a format where no one else had two was going to relearn the grammar of 50-over cricket.

Almost two years since he officially replaced Virat Kohli as skipper in the second-longest format, it's fair to say he has reinvented himself for the greater good of the team.