Vice-captain KL Rahul believes newly appointed T20I skipper Rohit Sharma will bring in “a lot of calm” into the dressing room.
The T20I series versus New Zealand, beginning in Jaipur on Wednesday, marks Rohit’s first appearance as India’s full-time captain in the game’s shortest format.
“We have all seen him in the IPL and Rohit’s stats are for everybody to see. He has a great understanding of the game and tactically, he is really good and that is why he has been able to achieve what he has as a leader,” Rahul, who is set to open with Rohit, said during a virtual media interaction on Monday.
“He will bring in a lot of calm into the dressing room. The next few weeks will be exciting to know what kind of goals he has for the team and what kind of template we are looking to set.
“A team sport is always about collective effort and decision. The job of the leadership group is to ensure that everybody is clear about their roles and feeling secure in the team,” Rahul emphasised.
Under new head coach Rahul Dravid, the players will have a good opportunity to enhance their learning of the game and establish themselves as better cricketers, Rahul said. “Obviously, I’ve been very fortunate to have known Rahul Dravid for a long time.
“As a youngster, I did pick his brain and try to understand the game better alongside trying to understand the art of batting better from him. Has been very helpful to all of us back home in Karnataka.
“As a coach, he has been with the boys around the country and to have him in the set-up is a great opportunity. We all know what a big name he is and the kind of things he has done for our country.
“He’s somebody who’s big on setting a good team culture and creating an atmosphere where people are thriving and trying to get better as people and cricketers.”
Talking about Dravid’s vision as coach, Rahul believes the focus will be on bringing in a culture where the team’s cause gets more importance than individual goals.
“When it comes to coaching, I’ve played a couple of games with the India A set-up and we had a small chat just before coming out here (in Jaipur) for training. He was always a team-man when he was playing and that is the kind of culture he wants to bring in here,” Rahul said.
Having failed to make the semi-finals of this T20 World Cup, the team management will soon decide the way forward ahead of the next edition in Australia. “We all need to sit down together and make a collective call on what’s the best template or the best brand of cricket we need to play to make sure we get better performances.
“It will be a discussion we will have in the next couple of days,” Rahul said.