“It’s about giving confidence and building trust”: Rohit Sharma

Mumbai : India captain Rohit Sharma on Friday opened up about leading the side and the leadership role he plays for the national team, stating that as a skipper he tries to build confidence and trust in players.

During an event in Mumbai on Friday, India captain cherishes the role’s numerous facets, including making strategic judgments on the field and managing individual players’ personalities off the field.

“It is probably the hardest job of the leader to get everyone to do what you want them to do. Because they come with a different mindset and they want to do what they want to do. That’s what we try and talk to everyone when they come in because it’s a team game and sport. What i try and do is give the players that freedom and importance….. that they are very important for me. It does not matter if you only play only tean balls at No.6 aur No.7 …you are so important to me that you can win games. It’s just building the confidence within themselves. Because you need all 11 of them to give their best. You need everyone to contribute to the team’s cause,” Rohit Sharma said in a Leo1, Mastercard & NSDL event.

Rohit stated that he try his best to have personal interactions with each player, and as a leader, it is necessary to treat everyone equally and with significance.

“I try and go to players’ rooms individually and talk to them, have dinner. They look up to the leaders. If I am not available to talk and give time to them then there will be some discomfort around the team. The most important thing is to try and treat everyone equally and give everyone that importance. Give them role clarity that what is their role,” the Indian skipper said.

“If they are having any thoughts about getting dropped that’s where my role comes in. Then I have to try and build the confidence. It’s about giving them that confidence and building that trust that no matter what my leader says I have to go and execute that. Those are the things that I try to focus on. It’s a tough job,” he added.

On playing the role of opener in the team, Rohit said, “I like to be put in a place where its slightly difficult conditions and situations. I always wanted to be challenged all the time. The hardest part is to start because you dont know what the outcome will be. Confidence is something that you can’t take from anywhere it needs to come from within and that’s starts how I train before the game. If I want to play a certain shot in the first over, I have to practice that. I have to master that shot to gain confidence.”

Talking about the ongoing five-match Test series between India and England, the hosts suffered their fourth home Test defeat in a decade in Hyderabad, as visitors overwhelmed the Rohit-led side thanks to a superb 196-run effort by Ollie Pope and a fantastic performance on Day 4 by debutant Tom Hartley, who picked up seven wickets.

However, India responded in Vizag with a 106-run triumph, levelling the five-match series at 1-1. With the five-match series levelled at 1-1, the action now heads to Rajkot for the third Test, starting February 15.