New Zealand Commentator Simon Doull has lauded the Indian Skipper Rohit Sharma for putting the team first and for his unselfish approach to batting and leadership ahead of the test series against South Africa. Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli opted out of South African white ball leg in order to focus on Test cricket.
As India gears up to face their final frontier, with the upcoming Test series in South Africa, Rohit Sharma, at the age of 36, is set to lead the Men in Blue for the first time in a Test series in the Rainbow Nation. Despite several close encounters in recent series, India has never managed to secure a Test series victory in South Africa.
Notably, Rohit is entering the Test series on the back of a stellar performance in the World Cup, where he guided Team India to the final. The prolific Indian batsman concluded the tournament as the second-highest run-scorer, amassing 597 runs at an impressive average of 54.27 and a strike rate of 125.94.
Rohit Sharma has done everything he possibly could for his team to win- Simon Doull
In an interview with Star Sports following the conclusion of the final One Day International, Simon Doull expressed his support for Rohit Sharma to persist with his aggressive batting style and effective captaincy. Doull believes that Rohit’s proactive approach is pivotal for India to taste success in the upcoming Test series against South Africa.
“It will be about tempering his game a little bit. The one thing I have observed about Rohit Sharma in the last 10-18 months is that he has probably been the most selfless Indian cricketer I have seen in a long, long time. He has done everything he possibly could for his team to win. He made this team, he played in a certain way to allow the others in the team to be able to play the way they play, in white-ball cricket in particular,” said Simon Doull.
Simon Doull added,
“In the World Cup, we saw that he set the tone at the top of the order, which allowed the middle order to play the way they played. So, it’s a slight change for him, not too much. I still want him to be that aggressive Rohit Sharma. We do see it in Test matches,”
Rohit Sharma has displayed remarkable prowess in red-ball cricket this year, amassing an impressive average of 49.09 in seven games, which include two centuries and 2 half centuries. Also, his explosive starts proved instrumental in setting the stage for India’s batting dominance during the recent ODI World Cup and leading them to the Final.
Rohit Sharma has become a very, very good captain- Simon Doull
Simon Doull stated that Rohit Sharma has shown significant improvement in his role as India’s Test captain, building on the success he has achieved in the white-ball formats.
Having led the team in nine Test matches, Rohit has an impressive record with five victories, two losses, and two draws. One of his standout moments came when he guided India to a hard-fought home series triumph against Australia earlier this year.
“The captaincy thing. He is getting really better. He has become a very, very good captain. He was always a very good white-ball captain, but I think he has become a slightly more aggressive red-ball captain. I am looking forward to seeing more of that through this series,” said Simon Doull.
In July this year, Rohit Sharma successfully captained India to a 1-0 Test series victory against the West Indies. Rohit looked in great touch during the series scoring 240 runs in 3 innings.
Following a triumphant 2-1 ODI series against South Africa, Team India is set to face the Proteas in the first Test at Centurion on Boxing Day, December 26.