Rohit Sharma’s captaincy compared to Kapil Dev’s 1983 heroics by Srikkanth ahead of T20 World Cup final: ‘Best part is…’

Rohit, in particular, has been in good batting form, and showcased it in the semi-final with a crucial half-century. Speaking on Star Sports ahead of the T20 World Cup final against South Africa, India legend Kris Srikkanth compared Rohit to 1983 World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev, and lauded the opener.

Kris Srikkanth compared Rohit Sharma to Kapil Dev

“I don’t like to compare eras and captains, but I just bring you a similarity between 1983 World Cup and this one. See in this World Cup who’s taking the lead as a leader? As a leader, Rohit Sharma said ‘Man, I’ll take up the lead. I’ll start playing the risky shots. I will take it up,’ and he’s played those fantastic shots and some fantastic knocks. And then everybody has been playing around him and everybody has done well,” he said.

Srikkanth also pointed out that small contributions will also be crucial for India in the final. “As a team, you need everybody. Maybe it could be Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, it could be Hardik Pandya, even 10-12 runs from Axar Patel,” he said.

Also hailing Rohit’s management of his bowlers, Srikkanth stated, “And the best part is, and he is able to managed his bowlers brilliantly. Like last match against England, you saw the fourth over he brought in Axar Patel and he got a crucial wicket of Buttler. So what I like about him is calmness on the field, the calming effect, same thing what Kapil Dev did and everybody is contributing to the success of the team. It’s just not one person, so that’s what Rohit Sharma has done. He’s got the team together, which is very important as a captain and as a leader.”

Rohit has registered 248 runs in this World Cup, at an average of 41.33 and 155.97 strike rate. He has also slammed three half-centuries, and his high score is 92, which he got vs Australia in the Super 8 stage.