What matters is what he does with the team he has at his disposal now; how he shapes it, pushes it and supports it. But what’s more important than everything else is, can he lead this team to a world title? Right or wrong but he will be judged solely on the basis of his team’s success in the ICC events. Kohli, for example, had a better success rate (70.43%) as captain in ODIs than MS Dhoni (59.52%) but the latter will always be considered a better captain for leading India to a world title in 2011.
We know Rohit’s team failed in the Asia Cup T20 just last month. But we also know he is a more successful T20 captain than his predecessor, Kohli. He has led Mumbai Indians to five Indian Premier League (IPL) titles, which is five more than what Kohli has with Roya l Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He already has more T20I wins (35 in 45 matches) than Kohli (30 in 50). But the real challenge begins on 23 September when India take on Pakistan in their opening T20 World Cup game.
Another failure to win a title, if it indeed happens, may not take away his captaincy, but it may take some sheen off his leadership record, which was tom-tommed a lot during the Kohli reign to criticize the former captain.
But beyond the results, there has been a visible change in approach under Rohit. Since January this year, India’s average run per over (RPO) in T20Is has jumped to 9.36 — best among teams who have played at least 10 matches — from 8.04 in the period between January 2021 and the end of the T20 World Cup in November 2021. In terms of RPO, 2022 has also been India’s best year ever where they played more than one match.
“After the T20 World Cup in Dubai, when we didn’t qualify [for the semi-finals], we felt that there needs to be a change in our attitude, in our approach in how we play the game,” Rohit had told Star Sports in August this year. “So, we had a clear message given to the boys and they were ready to accept the challenge.”
But Rohit, to the Indian team, is not just someone who moves the fielders and calls the bowlers. He is also one of their best batters, on whose shoulders lies the responsibility of providing a good and stable start. In T20s, where risk-taking is not a choice but a necessity, combining ‘good’ with ‘stable’ is way tougher than it sounds. And when you are also the captain, it makes it a level more difficult.
Rohit, however, has walked the talk and led by example. The improvement in his powerplay strike rate in the T20Is illustrates his commitment to the new approach. From January 2019 to until the end of the 2021 T20 World Cup, he had scored at 139.07 in the powerplay. Since the start of this year, his powerplay strike rate has jumped up to 147.85.
His overall strike rate this year has also gone up to 146.42 — second best behind New Zealand’s Finn Allen ( 1 5 0 . 4 8 ) among Full Member nations — in comparison to 144.82 during January 2019 till 2021 T20 World Cup. Rohit, hence, is doubly important for India’s chances of bringing the Cup home after 15 years.
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