By mauling England 4-1 in the recently-concluded Test series at home, Rohit Sharma-led India not just put 'Bazball' to bed but also the skipper himself replied his critics in fine fashion to lead from the front.
With two centuries, including one in the final Test of the series in Dharamsala, Rohit let his bat do all the talking, especially after former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott's claims that the India captain was "past his best".
Rohit replaced
Virat Kohli
as captain in 2022; and for someone who was not considered a Test material during his initial years in international cricket, Rohit has answered his detractors in style, both in leadership and as a batsman.
Kohli took a break from the England series for the birth of his second child.
Former England captain
Nasser Hussain
said Rohit's approach to the game is sometimes wrongly considered "laidback", probably because he replaced an aggressive Kohli.
“I think sometimes people confuse Rohit as a laidback cricketer who just lets the game drift. There is a lot of skill, thought and brilliance about his batting; and I thought he had an excellent series as captain," Hussain said while speaking on Sky Sports.
"He (Rohit) himself said in the press conference that he has had to learn and adapt his own style of captaincy at times. Earlier on in the series, he didn't bowl (Ravichandran) Ashwin with the new ball, and (Ben) Duckett, sitting there and waiting for his nemesis Ashwin, would get to 60s-70s before Ashwin comes on. But Rohit learnt from something he wasn't getting right,” Hussain added.
(Virat Kohli, left, and Rohit Sharma - TOI Photo)
Rohit then shifted to using Ashwin with the new ball to counter that.
“When you have got (Jasprit) Bumrah and (Moahmmed) Siraj with the new-ball burst, the use of Ashwin later in the second innings with the new ball has been pivotal. So don't confuse (Rohit's captaincy as laidback) because he has come off the back of Virat Kohli, in-your-face aggressive captain in the huddle at Lord's, saying let's unleash hell on the England batting line-up. Rohit is not quite the same sort of person. He has that fire burning within," Hussain reckoned.
India lost the first Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs, but stormed back in the style to win the next three to seal the series, and then won the final Test as well in Dharamsala to make it 4-1.
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