Rahul Dravid credited Rohit Sharma for transforming India’s T20 batting approach into a fearless, high-scoring style that other teams now try to follow.
Former head coach Rahul Dravid praised Rohit Sharma for driving a major shift in India’s T20 batting style. Rohit adopted an ultra-aggressive approach that consistently gave India early momentum. His intent helped the team win their second ICC T20 World Cup title while remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament.
Dravid, who coached the side during that period, revealed that the new attacking mindset was part of a long-term plan discussed with Rohit.
“I can’t speak for what happened before me and it’s not for me to say that but certainly from the time I came in a lot of the discussion with Rohit was around that we wanted to play a more aggressive brand of cricket,” Dravid said on Breakfast with Champions.
“We (Rohit and I) started right from the beginning, because we could see that that’s the way the game was evolving. And Rohit’s got to take a large credit for that, to move the team in a particular direction. Play the game in a lot more aggressive and a lot more positive manner,” he added.
Other Teams Struggle to Match India’s Aggressive Game
Rahul Dravid believes India have now set a new global benchmark in T20I batting, forcing other teams to catch up. Under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, India’s attacking approach has transformed their batting into one of the strongest in world cricket, with scores frequently approaching the 300-mark. Dravid then credited the players for embracing the risk-taking style.
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“I’m glad that we sort of kept going in that direction to the point where I think India’s kind of literally, absolutely changing what T20 cricket is like. Indian batting in T20 cricket at the moment is off the charts. I mean, it’s close to 300. And everyone else in the world is now having to catch up. I think in a space of three or four years you’re seeing that everyone’s looking at India and saying, ‘Shucks man, we’ve got to match this.’ Wouldn’t say like (match) me. I would say (matching) these players,” Dravid said.
“They are the players who do that. I mean, I’m not saying that I shouldn’t get any credit, but it has to be driven by the leaders. It has to be driven by the captain. It has to be driven by the players, because they’ve got to do it. They’ve got to take risks. You might be giving them a certain amount of security, but in the end, they’re the ones who’ve got to take those chances, take those risks,” he concluded.
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