Rohit coping well in the hot seat at IPL’s richest franchise Mumbai

Every franchise wants their team to win after pumping in the millions, and Rohit must have been getting hot under the collar after seeing the team fall short repeatedly in the initial matches.

It was good to see Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai Indians skipper, smiling once again. A sequence of four wins on the trot — including the last rainaffected one against Delhi Daredevils — have propelled the team back into the reckoning for a tilt at the Indian Premier League (IPL) play-offs, while news of his engagement last week was also heartening.

If it’s not easy to captain an IPL side in the first place (Sourav Ganguly famously said a few years back that he found it easier to lead the Indian team because of owners’ interference), then it’s more so if one is trying to manage the expectations of a heavyweight side like Mumbai. Owned by the Ambanis, it’s by far the richest franchise and, coming from those in the know, the pressure can be choking.

The dugout of Mumbai Indians tell its own story about the way the franchise owners have gone about assembling a star cast.

Here’s a rundown of the who’s who there: Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble as mentors, Ricky Ponting as chief coach, Jonty Rhodes as fielding coach, Shane Bond as bowling coach — not to speak of former Indian all-rounder Robin Singh. If this is not a case of too many cooks, what is?

Reluctant leader no more

Every franchise wants their team to win after pumping in the millions, and Rohit must have been getting hot under the collar after seeing the team fall short repeatedly in the initial matches. Despite wearing the look of a reluctant leader when he was first thrust into the role in 2013, he certainly hasn’t done badly in a tenure spanning two and-ahalf seasons.

During this phase, Mumbai have won the IPL and the Champions League T20 once, apart from coming back from the dead after five losses in a row last year to make the play-offs. Rohit has, much to his credit, shouldered enormous responsibility in his role as opener, then number four, and continues to do so.

This season alone, ‘Ro’ — as he is known in close circles — has scored 343 runs from 10 matches so far. For all the criticism that the IPL has copped over the years, it has also seen a number of cricketers stand out with their strength of character in the captain’s role.

When Gautam Gambhir took over the mantle from Ganguly as captain of the then under-achieving Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011, the talk was whether he could match up to the cult figure existence of the former Indian captain in his backyard at Eden Gardens. Much to his credit, Gambhir has done that and more — winning two IPLs so far.

Rohit, who was often criticised in the early years of his career for being somewhat laid back despite having oodles of talent, may also want to credit the IPL experience for ‘steeling’ him in his international career.

Wishing him all the luck — both on the personal front as well as captain of the Mumbai Indians!