T20 World Cup 2024: Rohit Sharma told to follow MS Dhoni's footsteps to help India win the ICC event

Rohit Sharma will be eyeing history when he leads India in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024. He can become only the second Indian captain to lead India to glory in the T20 World Cup.

India have not managed to lay their hands on the coveted title since they won the inaugural edition way back in 2007. The Men in Blue have also not won an ICC trophy since 2013 when they clinched the Champions Trophy. Last year, India came agonizingly close to ending their long wait for the trophy when they qualified for the final of the ODI World Cup.

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However, the Rohit Sharma-led side ended up losing the title decider against Australia. Rohit Sharma and his teammates will now be looking to make amends in the forthcoming T20 World Cup. And ahead of the tournament, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has delivered some valuable advice to the India captain.

Harbhajan Singh's advice for Rohit Sharma:

Harbhajan Singh has advised Rohit Sharma to take a leaf out of the legendary MS Dhoni's book. Dhoni had exceeded all expectations as he led a young Indian team to a historic title in 2007. Incidentally, Rohit was also a part of the India squad in that tournament and has now been advised to learn from his first India captain in T20Is.

"Not many people know, Dhoni was a very new captain, so he needed that support from all of us. Before matches against teams like Australia, New Zealand, and England, our core group would get together during the game to strategize for the next few overs.

For example, in a match against Australia, I bowled the crucial 17th or 18th overs because if we managed to give away only 4 runs, it saved us a lot," Harbhajan told Star Sports.

"Back then, batters didn’t score 25 runs in an over unlike today. The decision-making was always a team effort. When you play together as a united team, you win more competitions. Dhoni was a great listener, taking collective decisions that benefited the team. It was never about individual performances but about playing as 'we'.

"Similarly, the question now is, can Rohit Sharma do it? Rohit is not alone; it's about 'we'. If we play as a united team, thinking about collective success rather than individual achievements, then we can win. But if we only focus on personal goals, things become difficult. It's all about the 'we' mentality, and that's when things come to life," he added.

The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played from June 1 to 29. Team India are scheduled to open their campaign on June 5 against Ireland.