In terms of numbers, India captain and opener Rohit Sharma may not have produced the amount of runs fans associate with him, but the skipper’s intent in the ongoing Champions Trophy has had a positive impact on the dressing room, according to the team’s head coach Gautam Gambhir.
India remained unbeaten in the group stage, beating Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand; and went on to defeat Australia in the semifinal on Tuesday in Dubai by four wickets.
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After the match, Gambhir was asked a question on Rohit’s performance in the four matches of the tournament, which have seen him accumulate just 104 runs at an average of 26.00 and highest of 41.
A clearly flustered Gambhir came all out in support of Rohit, reminding the reporter that there is the Champions Trophy final to play.
“Abhi to final hai Champions Trophy ka. Uss se pehle mai aapko kya jawab du? (there is the final of the Champions Trophy; what should I tell you before that?)” Gambhir reacted.
He went on to throw his weight behind the captain, saying that the number of runs scored by a batter is not how the team management evaluate performances, stressing on the impact Rohit has had on the campaign with his fearless approach at the top of the order.
“If your captain bats with such a tempo, it gives a very good signal to the dressing room that we want to be absolutely fearless and courageous,” said Gambhir.
“You evaluate with runs, we evaluate with impact. That’s the difference. You evaluate with stats, we evaluate with impact. As journalists and experts, you see numbers and averages. But as a coach and as a team, we don’t see numbers and averages.”
The coach added that Rohit is leading by example for the way the team wants to perform.
“If it’s the captain who is the first to raise his hand in the kind of cricket we want to play, then there can’t be a better thing for that dressing room,” said Gambhir.
India were led by ‘Man of the Match’ Virat Kohli’s 84 to go past Australia’s 264 in the semi-final on Tuesday.
The 2013 champions will meet the winners of the second semifinal between South Africa and New Zealand to be played on Wednesday in Lahore.
