"People's captain" - Sunil Gavaskar elevates Rohit Sharma to the same iconic status as Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni

Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar has lauded Rohit Sharma and compared him with the legendary India captains Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni. Rohit Sharma recently led India to the T20 World Cup 2024 title with a thrilling win over South Africa in the final.

Rohit played a key role in India's title win with the bat. He finished the tournament as the second-highest run-getter of the tournament with 257 runs in 8 matches at an average of 36.71 and a strike rate of 156.70. His innings of 92 off 41 balls in India's last Super 8 match against Australia was one of the highlights of the tournament.

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Sunil Gavaskar compares Rohit Sharma with Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni

While writing for his column for the Mid-day, Sunil Gavaskar compared Rohit Sharma to Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni and called him 'People's captain'.

"Rohit Sharma joins those other two cricketing giants, Kapil Dev and Dhoni in captaining India to a World Cup trophy. Like the duo were, Rohit is also a people's captain. Well liked, not only by his team members, but by the entire Indian cricketing community," Gavaskar wrote in his column.

Gavaskar also praised Rohit Sharma for his tactical awareness and a sharp cricketing mind.

"The cricket fans also love his iconic style of leadership and tactically, he is as good as the sharpest in the game. Some of his moves can surprise you and make you scratch your head as to the reason, but the end result is more often than not exactly what the team needed at that moment," Gavaskar added.

Sunil Gavaskar lauds Rohit Sharma for being selfless

The former India opener also praised Rohit Sharma for his selfless approach and not worrying about personal milestones.

"He led from the front, showing a complete disregard for personal milestones and instead looked to get the team off to a flying start every time. India are blessed to have him as their captain," Gavaskar added.

Rohit Sharma has an excellent record as India's captain in T20Is. Under his leadership, India has won 50 T20Is and has lost just 12. After the T20 World Cup 2024 win, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from this format. Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja are the other senior players who retired from T20Is after India's title win.

Sunil Gavaskar also praised Rohit Sharma's partnership with former coach Rahul Dravid which took India to a no. of wins, including the recent T20 World Cup 2024 win.

"While the players naturally took all the limelight as they should, there was the support staff led by the one and only Rahul Dravid who also had a massive role to play in the victory. What a terrific combo the two Rs made. Totally team-oriented, completely selfless, and prepared to do anything and everything for Team India."

Along with his international captaincy, Rohit Sharma is a highly successful captain in the IPL as well. Under his leadership, Mumbai Indians won five IPL titles between 2013 and 2020.