Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull has lauded Indian captain Rohit Sharma for his commendable batting and leadership qualities, expressing confidence in his ability to guide India to success in the upcoming Test series against South Africa.
Rohit Sharma, at 36 years old, is set to lead the Indian Test side for the first time in South Africa, where the team aims to achieve a historic Test series victory. Despite their close encounters in previous series, India has never emerged victorious in a Test series in South Africa.
The Indian skipper's recent form has been nothing short of stellar, with a standout performance in the World Cup. Rohit played a pivotal role in guiding India to the final, finishing as the tournament's second-highest run-scorer with an impressive tally of 597 runs at an average of 54.27 and a strike rate of 125.94.
Speaking to Star Sports after the conclusion of the final ODI, Simon Doull expressed his belief that Rohit Sharma, known for his attacking style of batting, will bring the same aggressive approach to his captaincy, contributing to India's success in the Test series against South Africa.
"It will be about tempering his game a little bit. The one thing I have observed about Rohit Sharma in the last 10-18 months is that he has probably been the most selfless Indian cricketer I have seen in a long, long time. He has done everything he possibly could for his team to win. He made this team, he played in a certain way to allow the others in the team to be able to play the way they play, in white-ball cricket in particular," said Doull.
Doull emphasized that Rohit Sharma has shown considerable improvement as India's Test captain, particularly following successes in the white-ball formats. The Indian captain has led the team in nine Tests, securing five victories, suffering two defeats, and registering two draws. One of the standout moments in Rohit's captaincy was the hard-fought home series win against Australia earlier in the year.
"The captaincy thing. He is getting really better. He has become a very, very good captain. He was always a very good white-ball captain, but I think he has become a slightly more aggressive red-ball captain. I am looking forward to seeing more of that through this series," said Doull.
As Rohit Sharma gears up for his captaincy role in South Africa, the cricketing world awaits to see if he can guide India to a historic Test series triumph and further solidify his reputation as a versatile and successful leader across all formats of the game.