Winning the orange or purple cap is great for the player, but a team sport is not about the individual. Never was. Unless the team wins, the orange cap is no more than a statistic. And that’s where Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni stand out.
Rohit Sharma has not been at his best with the bat in the IPL. Even he will agree that his form hasn’t been up to the mark. While he looked great against Gujarat Titans, consistency has been missing. And yet he has found ways to win games for Mumbai Indians as a leader. Some will say it is the extraordinary ability of Suryakumar Yadav that has helped, while others will argue that Mumbai have found a way to score 200 each time they play at the Wankhede. Whatever be the case, the truth is that Rohit and his boys have found a way. That’s all that matters. With a team that has no Jasprit Bumrah, no Jofra Archer and starts its bowling with Akash Madhwal. The bowling line-up against Gujarat included Madhwal, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorf, Kumar Kartikeya and Cameron Green – Chawla aside, a quintet with next to no IPL experience – and yet, Rohit has again found a way to almost make it to the play-offs.
The same argument can be made for Dhoni, whose bowling attack includes Akash Singh, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, a just-fit Deepak Chahar and Moeen Ali, not to forget Ravindra Jadeja. These two teams have this incredible ability to always find a way. That’s what makes them special. That’s why they have won nine titles between them. If they do make the play-offs, few would argue against them winning another title.
Take Faf du Plessis and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Du Plessis has played some of the best knocks of the IPL. Even Virat Kolhi, who captained RCB in a few games, has been very good as a player. But RCB still doesn’t have a settled batting line-up with three games remaining. Anuj Rawat or Mahipal Lomror or Suyash Prabhudessai – none of them know their batting positions. Even the bowling attack, which includes Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga, has been exposed time and again. Mumbai and Delhi plundered the RCB attack, and badly dented their campaign. Except Siraj, none of the bowlers have really fired and that explains why RCB is where they are. Playing well as a batter is fine, but the role of a leader or captain is more.
Also Read: Decoding Rohit Sharma, the Captain
The captain needs to make sure the team stands up when it matters. Winning the orange cap is great for the player, but a team sport is not about the individual. Unless the team wins, the orange cap is no more than a statistic. And that’s where Dhoni and Rohit stand out.
If Mumbai and Chennai can make the play-offs with teams, which not many fancied at the start of the tournament, it is a testimony to the leadership of Dhoni and Rohit.
To understand Rohit the captain, we really need to understand the man’s mind, for only then can you make sense of some of his decisions. Clarity of thought is one thing that defines him.
To give an example. Here’s how he planned a super over, something he had revealed in one of our many conversations on captaincy.
“It is very different to batting at the start of an innings,” he told me. “Let me take you back to a super over we played against New Zealand in New Zealand when we toured in January-February 2020. In this game, I was moving a lot inside the crease in the first half of the super over and wasn’t able to connect the way I wanted to. That’s when I realised I needed to do things differently. My mind went back to a super over between the Mumbai Indians and the Gujarat Lions in the IPL. Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum were batting for the Lions and I had handed the ball to Jasprit Bumrah, arguably the best super over bowler in the world.
“With Jasprit, you know he is in control. However, it was somewhat different in the super over. Jasprit walked up to me and asked if he should bowl the wide yorker or a low full toss? This was Jasprit Bumrah, the best in the world, and even he was under pressure against two very good batsmen. When I thought back to that game, I said to myself that Tim Southee who was bowling to me would also be feeling the pressure, for he knew I was capable of hitting big sixes. All I needed to do was stay calm and move as little as possible.
“If I stayed still, the chances of me connecting were that much more. And that’s exactly what happened. Southee bowled one in my zone, which I dispatched for a six, and all of a sudden the tables had turned. Once I had hit a six off the fifth ball, I knew I would be able to close it out for India. All the pressure was now on Southee, and it was more than likely he would make a mistake. He did, and I hit another six to finish things off.”
It was fascinating to hear him articulate his thought process. Here was someone who knew exactly what he was doing, and that’s what stands him apart as captain. In every match he has captained so far, Rohit has been in control. Even in a loss, he is in charge of his ship. In fact, more so. He knows what is coming at him and is mentally ready to deal with the challenge. That’s what he will bring to the table yet again if Mumbai make the play-offs, and it will help his team deal with the pressures of growing expectations.
Sheer talent, it must be said, did not get Rohit where is now. Hard work did. For someone who started out as an off-spinner, to make a name as one of the world’s best batters and captains isn’t simply the result of being talented. Ten years as captain doesn’t come easy. Rohit has managed to hone his batting and leadership skills having put in hundreds of hours of hard work. He will easily rank as one of the best captains in IPL history. In fact, he and Dhoni – Hardik Pandya, who models himself on Dhoni, comes close – are the best, and the 2023 season has given us ample proof.
Also Read: It’s all in the mind for MS Dhoni