After Kapil Dev compares Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, he gets compared by his 1983 World Cup winning teammate

Former India opener Kris Srikkanth has compared Rohit Sharma's leadership with the great allrounder Kapil Dev. Kapil Dev was the captain when India won its first-ever Cricket World Cup in 1983. The victory is still seen as a landmark moment in Indian cricket.

Rohit Sharma has been excellent in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. The Indian captain has led from the front and is the highest run-getter for India so far with 248 runs in seven matches at an average of 41.33 and a strike rate of 155.97. He will look to continue his form in the final against South Africa.

His captaincy has been spot-on as well. Whenever India has been in trouble at various stages of the game, Rohit's bowling changes have often resulted in a breakthrough.

In the semi-final game against England, Rohit brought in Axar Patel when England were off to a flying start. Axar produced the wicket straight away as he removed the dangerous Jos Buttler in his first ball.

Also read: IND vs SA Match Prediction- Who Will Win Today Final? ICC T20 World Cup 2024

Kris Srikkanth compares Rohit Sharma's captaincy with Kapil Dev

During a discussion on Star Sports on the eve of the India-South Africa final match, Kris Srikkanth lauded Rohit Sharma's captaincy and compared him to the former allrounder Kapil Dev.

“I don't like to compare eras and captains, but I just bring you a similarity between the 1983 World Cup and this one. See in this World Cup who's taking the lead as a leader? As a leader, Rohit Sharma said 'Man, I'll take up the lead. I'll start playing the risky shots. I will take it up,' and he's played those fantastic shots and some fantastic knocks. And then everybody has been playing around him and everybody has done well," Srikkanth said during the discussion.

According to Srikkanth, Rohit Sharma is a calm leader who carries the team together, which is the main reason for his success. He also cited an example of his brilliant captaincy.

I like his calmness on the field, says Kris Srikkanth on Rohit Sharma

"And the best part is, he can manage his bowlers brilliantly. Like the last match against England, you saw the fourth over he brought in Axar Patel and he got a crucial wicket of Buttler. So what I like about him is his calmness on the field, the calming effect, the same thing that Kapil Dev did and everybody is contributing to the success of the team."

"It's just not one person, so that's what Rohit Sharma has done. He's got the team together, which is very important as a captain and as a leader," Srikkanth concluded.

Other than Rohit Sharma, Srikkanth also felt that the team needed contributions from every player in order to win the big match.

"As a team, you need everybody. Maybe it could be Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, it could be Hardik Pandya, even 10-12 runs from Axar Patel,” the former India opener batter said.

Apart from Rohit Sharma, India will hope for a valuable contribution from the talismanic batter Virat Kohli. Kohli is having a horror time in the tournament so far, having scored just 75 runs in seven matches so far.

India will play the final against South Africa on June 29 at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.