ROHIT LAUDS GRITTY KOHLI AS SKIPPER

Mumbai, Dec. 13: Virat Kohli led India from the front for five years as the team’s limited-overs captain, said his successor Rohit Sharma, insisting that he enjoyed “each and every moment” that he played under the star batter.

In his interaction with bcci.tv, Rohit spoke about how the team under Kohli had a “great time”. Kohli stepped down as T20 captain after the World Cup in the UAE and was subsequently replaced by Rohit as ODI skipper earlier this month.

“Five years that he led the team, he led from the front every time, we stepped on to the park, and there was clear grit and determination to win every game, that was the message to the entire squad,” Rohit said on the sidelines of the Indian Test squad’s training session here ahead of the tour of South Africa later this month.

“We have had a great time playing under him (Kohli) and I have played a lot of cricket under him, I have enjoyed each and every moment, still continue to do that,” he added, putting an end to all the conjectures that have floated about the professional relationship between the two.

The Indian team has aced criticism for not being able to win an ICC trophy since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Rohit said he is aware of the challenge. “There are lot of things that we need to do right before we think of end result. The last ICC trophy (Champions Trophy), we won was in 2013. “...but I don’t see anything wrong that we did after that Champions Trophy. We played well and performed as a team just that we couldn’t get that extra inch. That can happen as international cricket is very demanding but that’s the challenge,” he said. —