Abhishek Nayar: Rohit Looked After His Players Well
Former Indian batting coach Abhishek Nayar has discussed Rohit Sharma’s managerial style, highlighting instances from their collaboration.
Rohit announced his retirement from Test cricket and resigned as captain prior to the 2025 series against England. Before retiring, he supervised a series victory over New Zealand at home, halting India’s winning run at home. He also captained the team in three Test matches during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where India lost a five-match series 3-1.
“We had Rohit Sharma as captain, and I remember him coming out after the Mumbai Test [vs New Zealand] and saying in the press conference, ‘It’s okay,'” Abhishek Nayar said, referring to an incident that happened following the New Zealand series.
Nayar explained how Rohit would take the initiative to accept responsibility when the team performed poorly or lost and would not place the blame elsewhere. We’ve won a lot of series, so I’ll accept responsibility for this one.
Rohit was that person. There was always that aspect of him that could cheer everyone up and ensure the squad was doing well. Naturally, everyone suffers when India loses. “But the one thing he did exceptionally well was look after his players.”He would consider who had been most impacted, who had failed to score runs, and how he could help them.
Rohit’s constant acceptance of responsibility was the trait I found most admirable. He would never publicly accuse someone by declaring, “You did this” or “You did that.” Rather, he would raise a hand and declare, “I failed.”
Speaking on JioStar, Abhishek Nayar declared, “You would never hear him making excuses or throwing someone under the bus.”
According to Abhishek Nayar, Rohit successfully communicated with his teammates in his role as captain, ensuring that each player understood what he was saying. Sanju Samson, who was left off the starting lineup for the 2024 T20 World Cup final, was highlighted by Abhishek Nayar, who claimed that Rohit took the time to explain the decision to Samson.
“I recall Rohit not playing in the Sydney Test. Nevertheless, he went out, conducted the interview, and expressed himself clearly. He didn’t sugarcoat anything. The group trusted him because of this.
Even now, any young cricket player will talk highly of Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. They’ll tell you that even though he reprimanded them, they took it seriously since they understood it was motivated by real concern and trust.He had excellent communication skills as a captain.
Following his exclusion from the T20 World Cup final in Barbados, Sanju Samson also discussed it. Rohit was worried about Sanju’s mood, so he made sure to talk to him before the toss even though he wasn’t playing. The presence of Rohit Sharma made those challenging times a little bit easier,” he continued.
Rohit is anticipated to feature for India in the three-match ODI series in England. In his most recent outing in the series against Afghanistan, he scored 143 runs at a strike rate of 115.32 in three games, with a best score of 79.
