MS Dhoni’s loyalist declares Rohit Sharma a 'GOAT' captain: "Should play for next 10 years"

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) left-arm paceman Khaleel Ahmed has showered ultimate praise on the India National Cricket Team ODI captain Rohit Sharma.

Khaleel Ahmed expressed his deep love and respect for Rohit Sharma, adding that the modern-day batting great should continue to play cricket for the next 10 years, benefiting Indian cricket.

He came to me and spoke to me personally in the dressing room - Khaleel Ahmed

In a recent interaction with RevSportz, Khaleel Ahmed revealed that the Indian captain Rohit Sharma once had a one-on-one chat with him after a bad day to motivate him, and he felt that gesture was quite special.

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"I feel Rohit Sharma should play for the next 10 years for the good of Indian cricket and that’s my personal feeling. When in 2019, we were playing a series against Bangladesh in Rajkot, once I didn’t have a great day and only got one wicket, so he came to me and spoke to me personally in the dressing room."

"The team was leaving the stadium and he stayed back to have a one on one with me and told me how I should be. He told me that I am unaware of my own capabilities. When we were getting out of the stadium, all the fans were screaming for Rohit bhai and he told me that ‘all of this should happen for you too’ and that I should wish that for myself and stay positive," he said.

I’ve seen him do the same thing with Rishabh Pant - Khaleel Ahmed

The left-arm pacer further said that Rohit always gives time to youngsters, including Rishabh Pant, to ensure that they are not feeling low on bad days.

While praising Rohit as a once-in-a-generation captain, Khaleel said that he has hardly seen a person and a captain like him. He elaborated:

"A captain like him, talking to me like that after the match, made me wonder how kind a person he was. I’ve seen him do the same thing with Rishabh (Pant). ‘What a man! What a captain!’ I would say. People don’t even look at you when you have a bad match but as a captain he is something else."

"Recently I met him at the NCA (Centre of Excellence) during the Duleep Trophy and he looked very fit so I asked him to stay like that and keep playing. I have hardly seen such a captain and person in my life, he is a gem and I have a lot of respect and love for him. It’s not possible to express everything in this short interview."

Khaleel Ahmed vs Rohit Sharma in T20s

The left-arm pacer Khaleel and the Mumbai Indians (MI) legend Rohit Sharma have come up against each other in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025 in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Khaleel has been quite successful against Rohit as he has given just 42 runs in 49 balls and dismissed the batter 3 times while bowling 33 dots.

Meanwhile, Khaleel further talked about making his India debut under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. Notably, the pacer got his India cap on September 18, 2018, in the Asia Cup match against Hong Kong at Dubai International Stadium.

"He (Rohit) gave me a lot of confidence, in spite of me being junior to him, he made me aware of the fact that I have something special in me. Such a successful cricketer taking the time to talk to me and inspiring me, boosted my confidence," he said.

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