‘Rohit doesn’t panic and that’s important when you are leading’
there and when the time was right he attacked spinners quite consistently. Some of the deliveries he attacked were good. That puts a lot of pressure on their bowling side and that is what Mayank was able to do. On the whole, it was a magnificent hundred.
All the batters, once they get a start, they would like to go on and on and that is exactly what our seniors also told us: “Once you get a start, make your wicket count”. That is what my message to everyone. Not just one or two individuals, not just Shubman to every batter. doesn’t panic. He is able to absorb pressure is what I saw. That is important when you are leading the side. There are multiple things that a captain has to take care of. If you are in a situation when the team is looking up to you, then it is important that the captain keeps his cool and does the job and that is what I have noticed in Rohit during the time we spent at Mumbai Indians.
It’s not happened accidently. It’s a consistent effort in making sure that you have the right structure in place. I felt the biggest change that happened in Indian cricket was from IPL onwards. Players, especially domestic cricketers, got lot of time to spend with international world-class cricketers.
The methods of training have changed. They think differently now which is so critical because if you are going to rub shoulders with top international stars, it make a big difference. Suddenly a player starts thinking differently. You spend couple of months with them, you practise with them and it makes a huge impact. That is what I have seen happening from the start of IPL. That started a new phase in Indian cricket. We talk only about the recent past but I would say the process started way back with IPL. All these guys who are representing India now have, as kids, been watching all those guys and that inspired them.