The question of whether Rohit Sharma will captain Team India in the United States and the West Indies for the 2024 T20 World Cup has generated a lot of anticipation. During the 2023 ODI World Cup, the star batsman led the Men in Blue to victory on home soil. Under his direction, the hosts triumphed in ten straight games before losing to Australia in the championship game.
After his impressive performance as a leader in the ODI World Cup, many people believe he should command the team in the T20 World Cup too. Yet, this idea stirs much uncertainty. Rohit Sharma has not competed in a T20I match since the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide against England, a game where the Men in Blue unfortunately fell by 10 wickets.
At 36 years old, he’s not in the T20Is for South Africa’s tour. Yet, past Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly supports Rohit Sharma. He believes Rohit should guide India in the T20 World Cup of 2024.
“Once Rohit is back playing all formats, he should be the captain of India, because he has done so well in the [ODI] World Cup,” he was quoted as telling PTI.
Sourav Ganguly knows a thing or two about leadership, having led Team India excellently for many years. Following his recent remarks on Rohit Sharma, we look at three parallels between Rohit and Ganguly’s India captaincy reigns.
1. Rohit Sharma and Sourav Ganguly’s leadership styles
When it comes to leadership styles, Rohit and Ganguly are diametrically opposed. The former is collected and serene, whereas the later is aggressive. However, both have one thing in common as captains: they lead from the front.
In the recently finished World Cup, Rohit Sharma did it wonderfully with the willow, taking on the task of getting the team off to a quick start in the powerplay. He laid the groundwork for the likes of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer to build on with his exceptional big-hitting. While Kohli completed the World Cup as the leading run-scorer, India may have struggled if it hadn’t been for Rohit’s altruistic attitude with the bat.
Ganguly’s batting performance was not as consistent as Rohit’s. During his leadership, he showed flashes of brilliance by letting his bat do the talking. His amazing hundred in Brisbane on the 2003-04 tour of Australia springs to mind.
Ganguly, on the other hand, led from the front by displaying assertiveness as captain. He did it effectively during the historic 2001 series at home against Australia. Another legendary event in Indian cricket history is Ganguly’s shirt-waving on the Lord’s balcony after winning the Natwest Trophy in 2002.
It would not be unfair to claim that Ganguly transformed the destiny of Indian cricket with his courageous leadership.
2. Rohit and Ganguly took charge of Indian cricket in troubled times
Like Rohit, Ganguly stepped up as captain during tough times in Indian cricket. Rumors hinted at issues when Kohli stepped down from T20I captaincy. Later, Rohit Sharma replaced him as ODI captain in a surprise move. Then, Kohli also left the Test captain role, which then fell on Rohit’s shoulders, placing him in charge of all formats.
Several months afterward, Chetan Sharma, the then-Chairman of Selectors, had to leave his role. This was due to a surprise operation where he spoke of some unbelievable accusations. Indian cricket was in a pretty tough spot. However, Rohit Sharma, partnered with coach Rahul Dravid, have remarkably managed to raise the team from this difficulty.
Ganguly found himself as captain almost by default after the match-fixing scandal in 2000. This event abruptly ended the careers of some significant team members. Sachin Tendulkar, who had faced challenges as a leader before, wasn’t keen to take over this role again.
Indian cricket had a fresh dawn under Ganguly and coach John Wright, with the squad reaching unprecedented heights.
3. Both ODI World Cup final losses to Australia
Both Rohit and Ganguly have had one major letdown as captains. They were captains when the side fell to Australia in the ODI World Cup final.
The former was in command when the Men in Blue were defeated by Australia by six wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Team India fell at the final hurdle after cruising to the final undefeated.
India overcame Australia’s nine-wicket thumping in the league stage to win eight straight games and coast into the final at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, all under Ganguly’s leadership. In the Johannesburg summit match, they did not place first.
The Australians batted first and then swept out India for 234, winning the final by 125 runs.