The cricket fraternity is still coming to terms with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's Test retirements. The senior most batters bid goodbye to red-ball cricket ahead of a crucial tour of England starting from June 20 at Headingley.
As the selectors look for replacements and a new leader, cricketers close to Sharma and Kohli discuss the greatness of the former captains and what the junior group can learn from them.
Former India all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi first met Sharma on an India A tour in Abu Dhabi, followed by another in Darwin and Cairns in Australia.
“He had not played India then. I was one of the senior players on that team. Robin Singh was our coach. I once went shopping with him in Dubai. He wanted to buy something for his mother. When we were in the car, he asked me about the aura of the Indian team and how Sachin Tendulkar was. He wanted to know and understand how the team dynamic works. I explained that the seniors are great people and are helpful towards youngsters.”
“That time, we both didn't know that Rohit would be captaining India one day. I always felt he would make it big because technically, he was so sound,” Sodhi told SportsBoom.com.
When a young Rohit dazzled against Pakistan
Sodhi, who represented India in 18 ODIs, recalled a match against Pakistan A, where Sharma dazzled on the first ball.
“There was a 100-run partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Robin Uthappa. Rohit was supposed to bat at No. 4 [after Venugopal Rao at No. 3]. He was waiting for his batting. You tend to get lazy while waiting for a long time. Then, wickets fell, and he had a lazy walk to the crease. He played a copybook cover drive leaning onto the first delivery off Umar Gul. That was one of the best cover drives I had seen. You usually need one or two balls to get your eye in and feet moving, but he was masterclass,” he said.
Sodhi encouraged the young players to learn to play the ball late from Sharma.
“Let the ball come to you and wait for it right under the eye. Every batter works hard to play the ball late, but they don't reach that, but he had it in him. During his initial years, he picked up the technique while playing in Mumbai. Kohli is undoubtedly the best in the world, but the impact of Rohit was at par with him. He was the most dangerous batter in the world when in form.”
The importance of having Virat Kohli around
India fast bowler Navdeep Saini made his T20I debut in 2019 under Virat in the tour of West Indies and returned 3/17 to win the Man of the Match award. Earlier that year, he even played his first Indian Premier League match under the superstar's leadership in Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“He was also the captain when I made my ODI debut. I am grateful to him for the opportunities. He had a lot of faith in me, which is special. He always pushed me to put in 110 percent effort.”
“He still has a lot of energy, and how he has worked throughout his career on his training and in the matches is exceptional. We look up to him. The fitness culture came into the cricket team because of him,” Saini told SportsBoom.com.
The 32-year-old pacer felt the younger lot could learn how to turn matches and fight till the last breath from Kohli.
“They can learn how to put in the effort, going out of the way, to turn a match. At times, his communication in the team hurdle has also turned games in our favour. He has motivated the boys to put in that extra effort even if you are losing the match.”
Sodhi had a message for youngsters Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who have a job cut out in England in Sharma and Kohli's absence.
“Their technique will be tested. They are all technically equipped players, but it will be an acid test.”
“If the ball is moving around in England, and if you manage to get a hundred, like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Rahul Dravid did, it will take your career a notch higher. The respect will be different from their achievements in the IPL.”
Gill, Jaiswal, and the new crop will look to retain the champion mindset.
