It's a huge honour to be captaining your country – Rohit Sharma

The Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, continues to be a driving force in the team’s drive to put up commanding shows across formats. Not only has he been leading the side eminently, but his contribution to the team with the bat and as a senior cricketer has been staggering. However, the Indian skipper believes that cricket is a game of context and numbers aren’t exactly a giveaway of what the cricketer has done in his life.

Talking to Dinesh Karthik in an interaction on Jio Cinema in between the ongoing first Test, Rohit explained why the context of the knock is crucial and what the Indian captaincy means to him. He showered unreserved praise for the prestigious position, while also highlighting the responsibility that comes along with it.

Rohit said, “I wanted to bring a certain change; players going out there and playing with a lot of freedom. That statistical side of cricket… I want to completely take it out of this team. People are not looking at numbers. People are not looking at their personal scores and just play the game. Numbers are overrated.”

He further added, “In India, we do talk a lot about numbers and all of that. But like, yeah, I got five hundreds in 2019 World Cup but kya hua uska, haar gaye na (but what happened, we still lost)?"

The Hitman shared his insights about the Indian captaincy, stating, “It is quite draining, but that is what you sign up for. When you take the responsibility, I think when the opportunity came to me to lead the team, I was excited. In the last 7-8 years, I've been part of that core group decision-making, vice-captain.”

He concluded by saying, “I led in Virat's absence a few times when he was not there, but yeah, obviously it's a huge honour to be captaining your country. You know, I have seen many greats who have captained the team stalwarts in their way, so to be alongside them, you know, it's a great honour. Great privilege.”