I have interviewed Rohit Sharma several times over the course of his career. And yet, the best interview that we did together wasn’t aired. It was recorded in February 2020, a month before the Covid virus took over our lives and all sport came to a standstill. At the time, the interview was deemed not relevant and we decided not to air it. It was an hour-long podcast, and may I say, a deep dive into Rohit’s mind as player and leader. He wasn’t captain then, and yet it was evident why he was indeed a leader in the change room.
As he was getting miked up for the interview, a rare one-hour-long conversation, Rohit was mumbling something to himself. He seemed a little distracted, and I couldn’t make sense of what was going on. Seeing me slightly anxious, he smiled and said, “World Cup jeetna hai [Must win the World Cup]. We have multiple ICC events in the next four-five years and we must win them. This is one obsession we have to fulfil.”
It was a kind of self-introspection and admonishment. Rohit is a true leader, and for someone of his calibre, it is never about individual glory. As one of the most successful captains in world cricket, Rohit knows how to win. For him to come close multiple times and yet not have a 50-over world title to show for it was not something he could accept. “Unless we win a world title, I will be very disappointed,” he said, in forthright fashion.
To understand Rohit, we really need to understand the man’s mind, for only then can you make sense of some of his decisions. For example, it was an easy solution for Rohit to opt out of the Australia tour in 2020-2021. Having won a fifth IPL title with the Mumbai Indians, he was the toast of the nation.
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Having come back to India to tend to his father, who was infected with Covid, Rohit could have decided to skip the Australia tour, undergo a full-fledged rehab at the NCA and get ready for the England series at home in February 2021. Rohit had not travelled with the team, and that meant he would be denied the privileges offered to them. They were moving from one bio-secure bubble in the UAE to another in Sydney, and as a result were allowed to train while serving the mandatory two weeks of quarantine. In Rohit’s case, things were different. He would have to fly a commercial airline, and that meant he would be confined to a hotel room and not be allowed to train for 14 days.
That was how we tended to think. Not so Rohit. “I decided to travel to Australia, for that’s what I think is right,” said Rohit in one of our many conversations during the 14-day quarantine in Sydney. “This is very difficult, I can assure you and I can also tell you I wouldn’t do this ever again. Having said that, I am convinced I did the right thing, for my dream is to play Test cricket for India and it is only fair that I live my dream.”
It was left unsaid that Virat Kohli, captain at the time and one of the team’s other seniors, had left after the first Test to attend the birth of his first child in India. In those circumstances, Rohit didn’t think it was right to deprive the team of his experience as well.
That’s what make him what he is, someone who always put team ahead of self. The Champions Trophy is one more case study of his leadership philosophy.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma – Of ecstasy, tears, and some bravado