“I go by my instincts” - Rohit Sharma opens up about experience of leading in Test cricket

Rohit Sharma has admitted that leading India in Test matches is a big deal for him. He also revealed that he got help from seniors in the team, adding that he stuck to his instinctive leadership philosophy.

The 34-year-old was named India’s new Test captain ahead of the series against Sri Lanka after Virat Kohli quit the post following the loss in South Africa. Sharma led the team to an easy 2-0 win as India clinched the pink-ball Test in Bengaluru inside three days.

Asked about his experience of leading India in the traditional format of the game, the cricketer said at the post-match conference:

“I have not captained much in red-ball cricket. I have done it in a few games in Ranji Trophy. Captaining in Test matches was a big thing for me. The team supported me a lot. People were telling me what to do and what not to do. There are many seniors in our team who understand the game very well. They were giving their inputs and there was my reading of the game as well.”

Elaborating on his captaincy philosophy, Rohit Sharma said that he likes to make decisions keeping the game situation in mind. The opener added:

“Eventually, I go by my instincts. My philosophy as captain is that you need to take what you feel is the right decision at a given point in time, keeping the game situation in mind. I try to analyze all these things on the ground."

"I have seen our five bowlers bowling for quite some time now so I know their strengths and weaknesses. I try to read the opposition as well. Not all decisions go your way but you try to take a percentage on the type of decisions that go your way and move forward accordingly.”

Having set Sri Lanka a target of 447, India bundled them out for 208 on Monday despite Dimuth Karunratne’s fighting 107.

"Having lost the series in South Africa, it was critical for us to get those points" - Rohit Sharma

Speaking about the long-term goals of the Test team, Rohit Sharma admitted that they want to make the World Test Championship final. However, he stated that they are not looking too far and are focused on the present. The Indian captain said:

“The long-term target is obviously to go and play the final of the World Test Championship. But honestly, we cannot look that far ahead because it doesn’t work like that. You just have to look at what is happening in the present. There are a few steps that you need to climb to reach that top place. Having lost the series in South Africa, it was critical for us to make an impact and get those crucial points for the World Test Championship table.”

On the big positives from the series against Sri Lanka, Rohit said:

“We were missing two of our experienced batters (Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane). Hanuma Vihari has been around, but batting at a new position (No. 3) was a challenge. (Shreyas) Iyer batting at No. 6 was going to be another challenge for us but he showed a lot of maturity in the way he played on those challenging pitches. Lot of boxes were ticked and we seem to be moving in the right direction.”

The Indian players contracted with franchises will now feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which will be held from March 26 to May 29.