Just 20 then, Rohit, with that ‘Inzamamul-Haq-like’ lazy elegance, was destined for big things. Or at least that was the thought. But that raw talent needed the temperament, which in turn needed time and some honing. He would throw away promising starts, embellished with swashbuckling shots, only to disappoint time and again.
Sixteen years, 251 ODIs, 30 hundreds (5 of them in the 2019 WC itself), 52 fifties and 10,112 runs at an average of 48.85 later, the Indian captain stands on the cusp of history. While he might already have done justice to his talent over the years, it is time for a bigger battle ahead.
While being Indian captain might be the toughest job in cricket, he has to shepherd the hosts to the podium, just like Mahendra Singh Dhoni did 12 years ago.
“Not thinking too much about that stuff but yeah in the last three editions, hosting teams won the World Cups and we will give our everything,” a calm Indian captain said during the Captains’ Day event at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. He looked relaxed, not burdened by the expectations of over a billion, with the body language of a cucumber.
Since he was promoted as a fulltime opener in 2013, the team management gave the confidence which Rohit paid back handsomely – he is second-fastest to 10,000 runs in ODIs (241 innings) after Virat Kohli (205 innings) and ahead of Sachin Tendulkar (259 innings). Over 10 years back, he was the third slowest Indian to 2,000 runs. If ever there was a resurrection. And yes, he is the only batter to have scored three double hundreds in ODIs.But it’s his test as a skipper which will be under scrutiny now. A billion suggestions, that unsettled Indian middle order for two WCs now, to play an extra spinner or a fast bowler, seven batsmen or five bowlers, batting first in a knockout game or chasing – those, and more, would be some of the thoughts clouding his mind.But you sign up for much more than that when you don the India cap. An International Cricket Council (ICC) trophy might be missing from his cabinet (India have not won an ICC tournament since the 2013 Champions Trophy in England under different captains), he has five Indian Premier League titles with Mumbai Indians, if that counts for anything at the quadrennial event.
“Every leader sitting here wants to achieve something really special for their country. The 50-over World Cup is something that I have always dreamt of growing up as a child. One thing I can assure you is that people are going to love this tournament here. People in India love their cricket as much as they love their team. It’s going to be a great tournament,” the Indian captain signed off.