Sachin Tendulkar praises Rohit Sharma's captaincy

Mumbai Indians won the 8^th edition of the IPL

Mumbai Indians (MI) coach Sachin Tendulkar praised team captain Rohit Sharma for his captaincy. He said that Rohit’s captaincy during the team’s Indian Premier League (IPL) winning campaign was fantastic.

Sachin said that Rohit is more confident than when he first donned the captain’s role. He said that his execution of the plan to the T is proof that he is a fantastic captain.

Sachin said, “If you compare him today with what he was when he started out as Mumbai Indians captain, he is a far better captain today. He is much more confident now. He has gone through a lot of ups and downs as MI’s captain and has faced a lot of challenges. These challenges only make you a better cricketer and a tougher person.”

“I think his execution has been particularly good this season. Whatever we planned in the meetings and dressing room, he has been able to execute them very well. You can tell a lot about the captain from the feedback the bowlers give you. The bowlers bowl in the areas and execute the plans that the captain asks them to.

“We can plan many things behind closed doors, but it is up to the captain, the bowlers and the fielders to bring it all together. Rohit has done that well.”

“We always had belief and faith in our ability”

Mumbai Indians had lost their first four matches in the cash-rich T20 league, but turned it around by winning 7 of their final 8 league matches to qualify for the knockout stage. There, they beat Chennai Super Kings twice, once in the play-off and again in the final to lift the IPL trophy for the second time in the franchise’s history.

Sachin hailed the team’s unity in the testing times and labelled the comeback “fantastic”.

The legendary batsman said, “We had a difficult start, really tough one. But those are the testing moments. That’s when the team stuck together and we worked hard. This victory is not a coincidence; it is the reflection of all the hard work that we have put in.

“All of us truly believed that we could change things around. It is not how you start but how you finish that matters.

“What stood out for me was the belief and faith we had in our ability. At no stage, any player was ready to put his head down thinking this is a difficult season and there is no future for us. We always saw the light at the end of the tunnel,” Tendulkar said.

Coach Ricky Ponting was instrumental in the team lifting the cup and there is nobody better to judge the Australian than Sachin, who played against him on numerous occasions. He said that Ponting is the same fearless competitor who never gave up and that helped MI turn things around.

“When we played against him, he always came across as a serious, fearless competitor who never wanted to give up. The same applied here,” recalled the 42-year-old. “At no stage did he feel that we are out of the tournament. We need positive people with good experience around, and Ricky doesn’t lack in any of those departments.”

“Simmons was the anchor of our team”

Sachin applauded the performances of opener Lendl Simmons and bowler Vinay Kumar in the tournament. Youngsters J. Suchith and Hardik Pandya also impressed the former Indian batsman.

“I thought he (Simmons) batted beautifully throughout the tournament. He has been very consistent. I also felt that the others played really well. He was the anchor of our team and because of him all the other players had the freedom to go and express themselves,” Sachin expressed his delight at the team finding the solution to the opening batsman problem.

“Some of the guys that played for MI for the first time this season did extremely well. The likes of J. Suchith and Hardik Pandya were very impressive. Also, Vinay Kumar — I know he is an experienced campaigner, but this was his first year for Mumbai Indians. I thought he didn’t start out very convincingly but he finished brilliantly. He peaked at the right time,” he concluded.