Rohit Sharma was keen on leading Deccan Chargers, he thought like a captain even when battingTirumalsetti Suman

By Akshay Ramesh

Rohit Sharma thinks like a captain even when he is batting and was quite keen on becoming the captain of Deccan Chargers ahead of Indian Premier League’s mega auction in 2011, his former teammate and former Hyderabad batter Tirumalsetti Suman said.

Speaking to India Today, Suman, who was one of the mainstays of the batting unit of the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, said he was able to spot the leadership qualities in Rohit Sharma much before the rest of the cricket world saw the Mumbai Indians captain dominate the IPL.

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Fresh from the success at the 2007 T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma, who was already making heads turn with his prodigious talent, found a platform to further his T20 stocks at Deccan Chargers.

Rohit Sharma did not disappoint as the star batter scored 1170 runs in 3 seasons for Deccan Chargers. The 36-year-old had scored 362 runs in 16 matches in the 2009 edition in South Africa as an Adam Gilchrist-led Deccan Chargers side went on to win the IPL, overcoming a poor run in the inaugural season.

“After 2010, what I know about Rohit Sharma was, he wanted captaincy of Deccan Chargers. After 2010, when the auction was there. The franchise also promised him, but then I don’t know what happened. The franchise went to leave all the players, then we know what happened to Deccan Chargers. Rohit, I, and Symonds, all of us came to Mumbai Indians,” Suman, who is an expert on Star Sports Telugu for IPL 2023, said.

“He was a very smart player and even when batting, he used to think like a captain. He used to give advice and suggestions to Gilly (Gilchrist) at that time. I knew from the start, he was a captain material,” he added.

‘ROHIT THOUGHT LIKE A CAPTAIN’

Rohit Sharma’s stocks rose with the way he handled himself as batter and Gilchrist’s deputy at Deccan Chargers. At the 2011 auction, Mumbai Indians secured his services for a sum in excess of Rs 9 crore, and the decision turned out to be a masterstroke.

The 36-year-old is not just one of the leading run-getters in the IPL but is also the most successful captain with 5 titles, all of them coming as captain of Mumbai Indians.

Suman, who shared quite a few partnerships with Rohit at the top of the order for Deccan Chargers and then later at Mumbai Indians, shed light on how the Mumbai star evolved as a batter during the nascent stages of his career.

“Back in 2009, I saw him first playing, obviously he was a star, he used to win matches single-handedly. When I used to bat with him, I used to pick his brains a lot. One of the first things he used to tell me about batting, why he consistently used to win matchesâ€æ he told me that we should always think like an opponent captain when batting.”

“That is a unique way of thinking. He thinks like a captain when batting also. You know when a bowler is coming when a captain used to get in those few overs of normal bowling, then he used to attack. He used to tell me during our partnerships when to attack a bowler. He was strategically very perfect,” Suman said.

‘MOST IMPORTANT YEAR FOR ROHIT’

The former Hyderabad batter, who played 38 first-class and 47 List A matches in his career, also said he is hopeful of Rohit Sharma shining in what he believes would be the most important year in the India batting star’s captaincy career.

“I think, this is the most important year in Rohit Sharma’s career. He has got two Championships ahead. One is the WTC final and the other is World Cup. It won’t be easy, there will be more pressure because the World Cup is in India.”

“And I have always believed that a good team makes a captain, rather than a good captain making a team. It should be a collective effort. Rohit Sharma’s captaincy is top-notch. He has already proved it in the IPL and with whatever international cricket he has led so far. As a captain, I would rate him 100 out of 100,” Suman said.

Rohit Sharma, who will lead India in the 2 ICC events in 2023, turned 36 on Sunday, April 30. The star batter will be in action on his birthday as Mumbai Indians try to revive their IPL 2023 campaign against Rajasthan Royals at home.