'Rohit Sharma scolds players...' - Praveen Kumar's sharp take on India captain

Former India National Cricket Team pace bowler Praveen Kumar has lavished rich praise on Rohit Sharma and labeled him as a ‘fantastic skipper’.

Rohit Sharma is currently involved in the 5-match home Test series against England National Cricket Team. The opening batsman has done a brilliant job as captain and with the bat he has played some important knocks for the team.

India started off the series with a loss at the hands of the Three Lions but the Rohit Sharma-led side made a tremendous comeback and registered three back-to-back dominant wins to seal the series 3-1.

India would be looking forward to clinching a victory in the last Test as well to complete a 4-1 win over Ben Stokes & Co. The fifth and final Test match of the series is scheduled to be held at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala from March 07.

Meanwhile, in a recent interaction with the TimesofIndia.com, ex-India swing bowler Praveen Kumar shared his views on captain Rohit Sharma. Praveen stated that Rohit has been doing a great job and namedropped Sourav Ganguly while praising the captain. He said:

“Rohit is a fantastic skipper. He is leading the side really well. Sourav Ganguly was the one who built the team. He created the team with a mix of youngsters and experienced players.”

He scolds the players when they make mistakes and hugs them too – Praveen Kumar on Rohit Sharma

The former India pacer further labeled Rohit Sharma as ‘yaaro ka yaar’ and stated that he scolds players but praises them too.

“Rohit is ‘yaaro ka yaar’ (friend of friends). He scolds the players when they make mistakes and hugs them too. He guides them and gives them all liberty on the field,” the former pacer further said.

During the same interaction, Praveen Kumar was asked to name an Indian pacer from the current generation who has impressed him the most. Praveen was quick with his response and he named Jasprit Bumrah. According to the former pacer, Bumrah is an exceptional bowler and his ability to take wickets at any point in time is unmatched. He asserted:

“Jasprit Bumrah is just exceptional. He stands out and I don’t think there are any doubts on his skills that anyone should comment on. He is a senior player now. He has learned how to take wickets at any given time.”

Praveen went on to name Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar as the other pacers who have impressed him in recent times. He said:

“Akash Deep has impressed me a lot. Mukesh (Kumar) has done well. These two bowlers have done really well and will go a long way. They just need to keep learning new things every day.”

Coming back to Rohit Sharma, he will be seen in action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 after the conclusion of the five-match Test series against the Ben Stokes-led England. He will not be leading the Mumbai Indians (MI) this season as the leadership responsibility has been handed to Hardik Pandya.