Not just light but luminescence at the end of the tunnel for Rohit

Not just light but luminescence at the end of the tunnel for Rohit

It has been a tumultuous six months for Rohit Sharma, with runs hard to come by and the situation so dire that he even had to drop himself from the XI. But as they say, there's always light at the end of the tunnel. For Rohit, though, it wasn't just light – it was radiance, luminescence and resplendence. Few India skippers would be as worthy of the Champions Trophy glory.

Amid intense speculation about his future and rumours of differences with coach Gautam Gambhir, there was a cloud of uncertainty surrounding his immediate prospects. Yet, Rohit never compromised on his style or approach to batting. He continued to take on the bowlers with the sole aim of providing a solid start and setting a strong foundation for the team.

He succeeded more often than not in the Champions Trophy here in Dubai, although his approach and style of batting drew criticism from legends like Sunil Gavaskar. "As a batter, are you happy with scoring 25-30 runs? You shouldn't be," Gavaskar told the India Today channel before the final, referring to his scores of 41, 20, 15 and 28 before the title clash. Rohit responded with a match-winning 76 on Sunday night. He was the player of the final.

There is always an element of tenacity to his aggression in his batting. He would try to take early advantage of the field restrictions by going over the head of the fielders. With over 11,000 runs, he was always a safe bet for the team, but lately his contribution lacked consistency. Sunday's effort should silence his critics.

There was selflessness to his approach, as on the slow wickets of Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS), scoring with the old ball and with the spread out field has not been easy. He wanted to be proactive in the beginning as he had been in the recent times.

"I have not done anything different; I have been doing the same thing that I'm doing over the past 3-4 matches. I know how very important it is to score runs in the powerplay, because we saw in not only one or two games, but all five games, after 10 overs it becomes very difficult when the field spreads and spinners come on," Rohit explained about the difficulty of scoring runs here. There has not been a single total over 300 in the five games played here.

"You may not see the consistency of big runs, but if I'm very clear in my mind about what I have to do. Then as long as I am very clear, I think it is pretty much okay. Today you saw that after 10 overs I changed my game a little. I wanted to play longer. But I went to put a bit of pressure and I got out. But again, you feel very happy when you win a match and when you contributed to it – It feels even better.

"I contributed a lot in the 2019 World Cup, but we didn't win. So, it wasn't fun. Even if you score 30 or 40 runs and win the match, you get more satisfaction and happiness. So, I think it was very important for me to do something and contribute and bring the team in a position where there is a little comfort for the rest of the batting order."

Scoring runs is only one half of Rohit's job. Getting the best out of the rest of the team is the more difficult part. He has led the side to four finals of the global events, winning two of them. Over a long period of time, there is always a chance for complacency to creep in and there would be odd defeats. "You lose one series here and there, it doesn't mean that the team is bad or things are not happening right, things are not going in the right direction. It happens, everybody is allowed to lose and we lost a series in India against New Zealand, the Test series. But that happens. It's like every time we take the field, we are meant to win everything. But that is not going to happen. This is a sport that we play. There are opposition who are also trying their best to beat us."

It is not easy to keep the collective hunger of the team intact. But Rohit thinks differently, calling his side a bloody good team. "There's not too much work that is done there. At the end of the day, you're representing your country, and everyone understands that. So that is not where I come into play. My job is to make sure that whoever we pick to play gets the job done for the team. Like I said, there is a lot of hunger, even for the guys who have played a lot of cricket. So, these things are not supposed to be taught."

He continued, "No, it obviously is just not me. You know, a lot of the captains who've played before me, captained the team before me, a lot of credit goes to them as well. A lot of the coaches who have come before, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, and all of these guys. The credit goes to everyone. India is a bloody good team without a doubt."

He is also a bloody good player, and above all a damn good selfless captain.