XtraTime Web Desk: Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has been regarded as the most successful captain of the cash rich league as under his leadership the Mumbai based outfit has won the title for a record four times. The reason behind the rise of today’s Rohit Sharma is his childhood coach Dinesh Lad.He has seen Rohit grow. He was a part of Rohit’s success and his failure. When things were not working for Rohit and was out of 2011 World Cup, he didn’t give up and made a strong come back in the 2013 Champions Trophy and then we saw a different version of the Mumbaikar. While talking at XtraTime Youtube Live Session, Dinesh said, “Definetly I’m very proud of him. See, in the 2011 World Cup, he was out of the squad. It was a shocking moment for him. It’s a dream for every player to feature in the World Cup. Thus, when we was out of the squad, he was shocked. However, from 2009-2011, his performance wasn’t that good and thus he was out of the squad. The reason of this downfall is because of the IPL. He got a lot of money and lost his focus. He was not giving enough time to cricket. Then, I called him and tried to explain him that whatever you’re today, it is only because of cricket. People will start forgetting you if you don’t give enough time to cricket. After that, since 2011 if you check, his cricketing graph has only increased. He scored 200+ runs in three different occasions. Then he joined Mumbai Indians where Sachin Tendulkar was playing. Sachin used to be his idol. He saw how disciplined Sachin was and I told him if Sachin can, why can’t you? After that he started giving time to Cricket. He started practicing from 7 am to 5 pm. That’s how his performance changed and today I’m very proud of him.”
Not only a great batsman, Rohit is also a terrific white ball captain. When Virat wasn’t there in the Asia Cup and Nidahas Trophy, Rohit captained the Indian team and won both the tournament. He has also won the IPL 4 times as a captain. Was it there in him since childhood? Mr. Lad clearly said, “Definitely I am happy. He was the captain since school days. The biggest plus point in him is his belief for himself.” Mr. Lad then recalls a story how Rohit won the match for his team from a very difficult position. Then he added, “Thus he believes in him a lot. Because of his belief, he performs so well. He is a very good captain. He stays calm, doesn’t take much pressure. You’ll see only after getting the captainship, his performance got better. He believes he needs to answer if he doesn’t perform. Thus, the performance comes because of his captainship”.
The host of the show on a lighter mode asked that there’s a phrase in Mumbai, ‘Tension dene ka nehi lene ka Hain’, whether Rohit follows that mantra or not. To which, Mr. Lad said, “See it’s a different ball game in Mumbai. The temperament is better. Mumbai Cricket Board has done a good job. Even the school cricket is better than what state Cricket Board does. That sets the temperament. Thus their batting is very strong. They are strong mentally as well. They know their role and hence the performance.”
After getting much of success, Rohit still seems to be grounded. Giving an answer to this Lad said, “No, he didn’t change at all. The way I’ve seen him, same confidence, same mindset. He didn’t change at all. I think Dhoni to give him the confidence. If he wouldn’t have thought Rohit’s name as a opener then things could have been different. I saw him as a bowler and then I found out how good a batsman he is. It’s wrong when people say, I made Rohit. I didn’t. He had talent. I just gave him few tips and then with his talent, he moved forward. So, I didn’t make him but yes, I gave Rohit the bowler an opportunity to bat. I didn’t put any pressure on him. He developed naturally. I believe that Cricketers are made from heaven. No one can make them. They need guidance. I just gave that. Today, we know how big Rohit Sharma is.”