The Indian captain encourages Rishabh Pant to continue relying on his innate playing style and elaborates on his connection with coach Rahul Dravid.
The captain of Team India, Rohit Sharma, openly stated his ambition to surpass Chris Gayle‘s international cricket record for the highest number of sixes.
Rohit currently has 539 sixes, only 14 short of Chris Gayle’s tally of 553. It is highly likely that the Indian captain will achieve this feat in the upcoming weeks.
“I want to break Chris Gayle’s six-hititng record. Never in my life I would have imagined that I will break the Chris Gayle’s record. It’s funny (flex muscles),” Rohit told journalist Vimal Kumar in a candid interview.
Rohit, famously known as the “hitman,” remembers how his coaches prohibited him from playing lofted shots during his early years in cricket.
“I am not a muscle guy but I like to hit the bowl hard. When I started playing cricket, I was told that timing is important. Aerial shots were a big no,” he said.
“We were told that you can play aerial shots. Basic was to keep your head intact, keep the bat close to your body and play the bowl along the carpet. If we used to play aerial shots, coach used to throw us out from the game,” he added.
Rohit provided insights into his connection with the head coach, Rahul Dravid
“I have a huge respect for Rahul Dravid. First for the person he is and then the cricketer. Because being a good human comes first then you are a cricketer, a footballer or a doctor. He is a genuine guy.”
“I didn’t get much chance to play with him but I now I have got the opportunity to work with him in the past two years. He didn’t like to have a communciation gap with any player or support staff. His simple rule is to communicate with everyone.”
“We have an open relationship. I have enjoyed my time with Rahul bhai. He is passing his knowledge about cricket to everyone,” he said
When questioned about Rishabh Pant’s injury recovery, the Indian captain had a single piece of advice for him: to maintain his fearless style of cricket.
“I want him to continiue play like this. He has backed his game. He is not stubborn but taking risk is his game. He always says that ‘I play according to the situation.’ He don’t go and start slogging, he read the situation well,” said Rohit.
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