ABU DHABI: India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah said the freedom he enjoys playing under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in Mumbai Indians set-up has been a huge confidence booster for him in his career.
Bumrah is an integral part of Mumbai Indians’ team, which won record four Indian Premier League titles under Rohit’s leadership.
“For me, he (Rohit) has always given me the freedom, he has always told me to express yourself (myself), be whatever you want, be it any situation,take ownership of your own bowling, so that gives me a lot of confidence and a responsibility that I’m responsible for whatever I’m doing,” Bumrah said.
“So that’s a big thing for a captain because then he gives a bowler so much of confidence. He trusts you so much and he trusts the decisions that you will take and that’s a very positive sign.”
Not just Bumrah, Rohit’s captaincy has also come in for praise from fellow teammates and Mumbai Indians’ coaching staff.
“He is always open to take suggestions on the ground. I have seen him a lot of times when there is a crunch situation, or when he is put under pressure, that time he is very calm, cool and composed. He takes tough decisions during that time,” Mumbai Indians batsman Suryakumar Yadav said in a video posted on the team’s Twitter handle.
While Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene termed Rohit as a “very instinctive leader”, former India speedster Zaheer Khan, who is part of the team’s support staff, described the right-handed batsman as “a thinking cricketer.”
“You have this very relaxed, cool looking guy. His mannerism when he bats, he’s got that elegance, which you can call it lazy elegance. But he is very intense and hard-core, when it comes to thinking about the game,” Zaheer said.
“He actually channelises his energy very well. He’s very good with controlling the emotions of the pressure situation, he likes to take that pressure on himself.
— PTI

Press Trust of India