'He Backs His Players...': Sanjay Bangar Lauds Rohit's Captaincy Style

image-loqt6ljrRohit Sharma has overseen India's winning streak at ICC World Cup 2023 (Twitter)

Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar hailed contemporary skipper Rohit Sharma for his successful tactics and captaincy at the ICC World Cup 2023. 

With the experienced opener shepherding his troops perfectly in a mighty Indian juggernaut, featuring eight consecutive wins to storm into the knock-outs stage as massive trophy contenders, Bangar highlighted Rohit's USP as the man at the helm of affairs. 

Speaking on Star Sports' show 'Follow The Blues', the former allrounder, who had a successful tenure as batting coach of the Indian team between 2014 and 2019, reckons Rohit's calming presence and ability to understand his players' welfare and to provide them trust and backing have been key to his success.

Bangar cited the example of three major injury-returnees in the Indian camp. He named the critical middle-order duo of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer apart from ace Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah and their respective struggles with injuries in the build-up to the World Cup to highlight Rohit's astute leadership qualities. 

Bangar Hails Rohit's Captaincy For India 

While Iyer and Bumrah were fighting a race against time from respective back struggles ahead of the World Cup, Rahul had dealt with a career-threatening hamstring injury. All three players required surgery and support from the team management and the selectors once they made comebacks in order to excel at the marquee tournament on home shores. 

As it has panned out, Rahul and Iyer have since firmed up their standing as one of the most formidable middle-order duo in world cricket while Bumrah has reattained his excellence and unplayable streak as an all-phase bank in the One-Day Internationals at this World Cup. 

"I believe his USP is that he has backed the players who were injured and low on confidence," Bangar said for Rohit. "Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah these 3 players were making comebacks after injuries, and they were given the confidence that they were a part of this team, and that the team believes in their abilities, and that they would get opportunities."

Bangar likened Rohit's captaincy style with that of his former India skipper Sourav Ganguly, who provided unwavering faith and backing to a generation of successful Indian players during his tenure at the turn of the century. 

"When any captain says this, it is above everything for a player. Another captain who did something similar is Sourav Ganguly, when he identified Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra. So, this is one fantastic contribution by Rohit Sharma as a captain," he added.