Rohit Sharma's tactical genius involving Jasprit Bumrah in T20 World Cup final questioned

On June 29, 2024, Rohit Sharma did something captains before him struggled to for the last 13 years – win a World Cup. Rohit, one of the most deserving candidates to end India's agonisingly long wait, made a billions dream come true when India beat South Africa by 7 runs to lift the T20 World Cup, ending years of misery and heartbreaks. Having come so close to winning the ODI World Cup at home last November, India needed this to wipe the pain of November 19, 2023. As the entire Indian team fell onto the ground after Hardik Pandya successfully defended 16 off the last over, it capped off the perfect end to Rohit and Virat Kohli's T20I careers and marked a fitting end to Rahul Dravid's tenure as India head coach.

In the final, Rohit took a gamble. With Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller going berserk, getting the equation down to 30 needed off 30 balls – regulation stuff given how T20s work, Rohit decided to bring on Jasprit Bumrah to finish his four overs. This meant that India wouldn't have him in the last two overs, but Rohit was aware that it was now or never. The skipper went with his gut instincts and what a masterstroke it turned out to be. Bumrah gave away just four wickets in the 16th over and just two more in the 17th, along with the wicket of Marco Jansen to put South Africa under pressure. Arshdeep Singh and Hardik then provided the finishing touches, but had it not been for those two overs of brilliance from Bumrah, India could have added 2024 as another example of what could have been.

That is Rohit for you. A dangerous batter but an even more instinctive captain. It was one of those calls that could have gone either way, but Rohit knew what Bumrah was capable of. In fact, Vikram Rathour, the former India batting coach, highlighted Rohit's tactical decisions as moments of brilliance, though he acknowledged that these moves often teeter on the edge of genius and sometimes drawing criticism.

"He is tactically very good as a captain. In the T20 World Cup final, he finished Bumrah's over early. A lot of people must have questioned that decision, but that decision put us in the situation, where 16 was needed in the last over. His tactical decisions on the field are spot on. Sitting outside It surprises you as a coach as well. We from outside sometimes think what he is doing but then you realise what he has done after a while," Rathour said on the podcast 'Find a way with Taruwar Kohli'.

'Never seen a captain who is as invested as Rohit'
Almost every youngster who has played under Rohit has nothing but positives to shower on the Indian captain. In the Test series against England, as many as five players made their debuts, and everyone – Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Akash Deep and Devdutt Padikkal already have their favourite Rohit Sharma story to narrate. As for the coaching staff, Rathour admits he is yet to come across a captain what is as involved as Rohit.

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"His first quality is that as a batsman, he is a phenomenal player. I think he is someone who understands his game really well. He always has a clear game plan. Even as a leader, you will have to lead from the front. You have to perform to set the example. And since he has become the captain, he has always led by example," added Rathour.

"He is a player's captain. He is invested with the players heavily. I have never seen a captain, who is so invested in team meetings and strategies. He spends a lot of time on the team's strategy. He is part of the bowlers' meeting, batters meeting. He wants to sit with the bowlers and batters to try and understand what they are thinking. He invests a lot of time with the players."

Source: HT