Gautam Gambhir’s childhood coach Sanjay Bharadwaj believes Rohit Sharma is the best modern-day India captain because his students often rave about the Mumbaikar’s ‘fun’ leadership where players get a lot of backing too.
Bhardwaj, a Dronacharya Awardee for his mentorship, has coached Gambhir, Amit Mishra, Joginder Sharma and many other current Delhi and IPL players over the years.
“When I talk to the youngsters and players in the team, they tell me that it’s Rohit Sharma,” Bharadwaj said, speaking in an interview with The Raunac Podcast. “They (the youngsters) tell me that he (Rohit) backs you a lot. It is a lot of fun playing with him. Masti aati hai uske saath. He himself is a fun-loving person, so it is fun playing with him, they say,” Bharadwaj said about Rohit.
Gambhir and Rohit have been working together since last year, though their partnership has yet to achieve the rewards it promised. Under them, India have conceded a 2-1 ODI defeat to Sri Lanka, a 3-0 Test whitewash against New Zealand and a 3-1 loss to Australia in the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy. A 2-0 home win over Bangladesh in Tests remains their only notable achievement to date.
The poor performances have opened doors for various reports citing anonymous sources to claim that all is not well between the two senior figures of Indian cricket. However, the duo has denied it.
“Both of us are very clear about what we wanted to do. I am not going to sit here and discuss what goes behind the scenes, every game tactically. But, it’s very clear in my mind. But Gautam Gambhir is pretty… once we enter the field, he trusts what the captain is doing on the field,” Rohit said recently.
“The basic talk that happens is only off the field. On the ground or maybe in the changing room, once we take the field, it’s all about what I do on the field. That’s the kind of trust we have in each other. That’s how it should be. That’s about it,” he added.
They’ll now join hands soon for India’s three-ODI series against England at home from February 6 which will be followed by the 2025 Champions Trophy from February 20.
