Rohit Sharma Is A Cool Person, Virat Kohli Shows Aggression - Mohammed Shami

Senior India pacer Mohammed Shami weighs in on the captaincy and leadership styles of Virat Kohli, India’s all-format skipper, and Rohit Sharma, the limited-overs vice-captain.

Mohammed Shami, too, like most people, carries the same opinion about the two cricketers: Sharma is calm; Kohli is aggressive. Both the players have achieved immense success with their style of captaincy. While Rohit is the most successful IPL captain winning 5 trophies for Mumbai Indians, on other hand, Kohli has led India to the number 1 ICC Test ranking.

Speaking about Rohit, Mohammed Shami said he tells his bowlers to do what they feel right and gives confidence to the bowlers with his positive answers.

“As a bowler, when I go to him for advice, he always gives positive answers. Rohit always pushes the bowlers to do what their mind tells them to, irrespective of how the batsman is playing or his strong points,” Mohammed Shami told India TV.

“I think that is very important for the confidence of a fast bowler. Rohit is a different character. He is a cool person, except when he comes to bat!”

Virat has led the team brilliantly so far: Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami, who is making his return to the Test squad for the tour of the UK after recovering from an injury he sustained in Australia, says that Kohli is ultra-aggressive, especially while celebrating the wickets!

The 30-year-old seamer reckons while Kohli remains in his combative mode while fielding and while batting, it doesn’t affect his leadership as he has led the side brilliantly in the past few years – India registered its first-ever Test series triumph in Australia under Kohli, and he has helped create a pool of fast bowler unprecedented in Indian cricket.

“Fast bowlers are very aggressive, both old and new. But the one player who could probably emulate their aggression is our own captain! Sometimes, when a picture of Virat’s celebration of a wicket goes viral on social media, I funnily ask him, “Was it my wicket or yours?” 

“He celebrates more than the bowlers! Sometimes he points out that you don’t look too happy with the wicket, so I simply tell him, ‘You did all the celebration for me!’.

“But it is important to have fun on the field. Virat shows aggression, obviously, but as a unit, he has led the team brilliantly so far. In addition, he is a very aggressive batsman too,” the pacer commented.

The Indian team is likely to fly out on a charter flight to London on June 2 for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and the five-match Test series against England.

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