Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who has been in tremendous batting form in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023, has revealed the secret of managing his teammates during their campaign so far, saying that he tries to put himself in the shoes of individuals and think about their needs.
Apart from his brilliant tactical decisions, Sharma has also been praised for his leadership and man-management skills during his captaincy tenure so far.
The 36-year-old Rohit, who is known for building strong relationships with his players, has created a positive and supportive environment within the Indian team, which has resulted in their good performances in the ongoing ODI World Cup.
Under Sharma’s captaincy, hosts India have won all five of their league matches so far and are the only unbeaten side in the ODI World Cup 2023.
“I think when it comes to managing players, it’s quite important that you understand the individual first and their requirement, what are the likes and dislikes of that particular individual because you know in a team sport it’s just not about one or two individuals or few individuals, it’s about everyone,” Rohit told Star Sports.
“We do understand as well that when you want to win championships, big tournaments, everyone needs to come to the party and play their part. So, it’s important that you keep everyone in a good mental space. So, it’s very important to hear everyone out, understand what they want, how they want to operate and things like that and then you take everything into consideration and move forward and that is something that I always do. I try to put myself in their shoes and think about what this individual will be needing now.
So, it’s important to think like that and you know luckily, I have got a good bunch of guys around me; the players, the support staff are quite understanding in terms of the requirements of the team, the players and everyone. So, yeah that is something that I wouldn’t say comes naturally to me, I’ve learned it over the years, gone through my personal experiences and understood what is needed for a team to be successful,” he explained.
The Indian captain who himself has been giving the team blistering starts in the first ten overs to set the base for successful chases, feels that it’s important to understand everyone’s need, their requirement and give them that space and freedom to go and execute their job.
“I think what is needed to be successful is to understand everyone’s needs, their requirements and give them that space and freedom to go and execute their job and their roles. Because it can be quite daunting at times because when you are playing such a high -profile tournament, the pressure can get to you at times,” said Rohit.
“So, it’s important to just stay together as a team, understand what each one needs to be in that good zone where they can come out and play free cricket and not worry about what is happening outside,” he concluded.
India have four more group stage matches to play – that against England in Lucknow on October 29, against Sri Lanka in Mumbai on November 2, against South Africa in Kolkata on November 5, and against the Netherlands in Bengaluru on November 12.