If Rohit Sharma is rated highly as a captain then some of the credit for that should go to former Australia captain and current Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting.
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma said that he has learned to give importance to each and every member of the team from Ponting. Rohit, who has won the IPL four times – the most – took over the captaincy of Mumbai Indians from Ponting in 2013. That year Mumbai Indian won their first title.
“I see how I can get little contributions from all the players. And of course, my performance is also important,” the India opener said on the first episode of India Today Inspiration season 2.
“I want to make sure that the 10 guys who are playing and the other players on the bench, I should be talking to them and make them feel important. And that is something that I learned from Ricky Ponting.”
Rohit said, the first thing Poting told him was not to think about himself and listen to the feedback his teammates have to offer.
“The first thing Ponting told me that when you are captaining you can’t be thinking about how you want them to do it. Always listen to them, take it in your stride and then filter it and give it to them. It was great learning for me when he was a part of Mumbai.”
Under Ponting’s captaincy, Australia won two ODI World Cups and held the No.1 spot in both Tests and ODIs for quite some time. He also captained Mumbai Indians in the IPL and then worked as the head coach of the franchise.
When asked how he looks after the youngsters to get the best out of them, Rohit said: “Those players will come out good or will be at their best when they are not under pressure. When there is not too much talking going on about them in the squad. They get to know all these things.”
