Coming out of the blocks and giving India a promising start with his ultra-aggressive style of play in the shortest format, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is dismantling the old model of playing international cricket on the biggest stage of all – the ICC T20 World Cup. Nicknamed Hitman, Rohit brought out his A game against the mighty Australian side to sanction an unceremonious exit for Pat Cummins’ star team in the Super 8 phase of the ICC T20 World Cup.
A Rohit special extended India’s invincibility in the ICC event as Rahul Dravid-the coached team qualified for the semi-final of the T20 World Cup. After dominating Group 1 of the T20 World Cup, Rohit and Co. set a blockbuster date with defending champions England in the second semi-final of the ICC event. Sharing his views on the build-up to the clash of the titans in Guyana, former England skipper Paul Collingwood credited skipper Rohit for bringing a paradigm shift in Indian cricket.
“The message is quite clear from Rohit Sharma”
“Look, I think the message is pretty clear from Rohit Sharma. Whether it’s the messages played in the locker room, the messages played in the locker room or some of the messages we’ve seen in his press conferences, where he says these are not personal steps, but strike rate or impact on the In a match, all these things are huge when it comes to players going out and believing that the captain and coach are 100% behind you and making an impact on the match. And I think there has been a massive change within the Indian cricket team,” Collingwood said. Star sports.
The World Cup-winning captain admitted that the Indian team was one of the best teams when it came to chasing in the shortest format. Giving special mention to running machine Kohli, Collingwood noted that India also wanted to put up match-winning totals under Rohit’s leadership. India recorded their highest ever total against Australia and Rohit’s men also outclassed their arch rivals Pakistan in a low-scoring thriller at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
‘Kohli at the top of the list, once he knows…’
“They have always been one of the best chasers in T20 cricket, Virat Kohli at the top of the order, once he knows what pace, what style he should play, then he is one of the best chasers. I have seen a massive change in the Indian cricket team, especially when they set targets now, they really want to be aggressive from the first ball,” Collingwood continued.
Interestingly, the former England skipper also claimed that England have been playing white-ball cricket with a similar model for almost a decade. Collingwood says the England side are a force to be reckoned with following the arrival of Eoin Morgan. The former England skipper masterminded the Three Lions’ first-ever 50-over World Cup title in 2019. Taking over the captaincy reins from Morgan, power hitter Jos Buttler guided England to their second T20 World Cup crown in 2022.
“In England they’ve been doing this for six, seven years, since Eoin Morgan took over in 2016. They’ve been really aggressive from the start. And it seems like they’ve set a benchmark for other teams follow that and India are no different. So when you have the skills and batting that the Indian cricket team has, they can be a very powerful and dangerous unit,” Collingwood added.