After taking charge as the new ODI skipper of the Indian team, Rohit Sharma has shared his thoughts over the rich legacy of Virat Kohli as the white-ball captain. The Mumbaikar, who replaced Kohli as the full-time ODI leader last week, heaped praises on his predecessor for his contribution to Indian cricket, stating that the Delhi-lad always ‘led from the front’.
“He has put the team in a situation where there is no looking back. Those five years that he led the team, he led from the front every time we stepped onto the park. There was clear grit and determination to win every game. That was the message to the entire squad,” said Rohit in a clip shared by BCCI on their official Twitter handle.
Rohit mentioned he enjoyed playing under the inspiring leadership of Kohli and had a great time, and cherished every moment. The 34-year-old reckoned he will continue to carry the legacy of Kohli and will make sure the entire squad move together.
“We had a great time playing under him. I have played great cricket under him and have enjoyed every moment, and I’ll still continue to do that. We need to keep getting better as a team and as an individual. That will be the focus of the entire squad moving forward,” added Rohit.
Goals & excitement 👍
Working with Rahul Dravid 👌@imVkohli's legacy as India's white-ball captain 👏#TeamIndia's new white-ball captain @ImRo45 discusses it all in this special feature for https://t.co/Z3MPyesSeZ 👍 👍Watch the full interview 🎥 🔽https://t.co/JVS0Qff905 pic.twitter.com/kFlqZxWh5t
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 13, 2021
Notably, Kohli took over as India’s limited-overs captain from MS Dhoni in 2017. He led Team India in 95 ODIs, winning 65 of them with a brilliant win percentage of 68. Despite an impressive success ratio, Kohli failed to lead the team to an ICC trophy. Under him, India played Champions Trophy final in 2017 (lost to Pakistan), the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final (lost to New Zealand), and T20 World Cup 2021 (didn’t qualify for the knock-out stage).
