Former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey commended Rohit Sharma for his intuitive leadership during the T20 World Cup 2024 final, crediting it as pivotal to India’s victory. Mhambrey highlighted Sharma’s astute bowling changes throughout the tournament, which proved effective on numerous occasions.
During a critical juncture in the final match against South Africa, with the Proteas needing 30 runs from 30 balls, Rohit Sharma’s decision to reintroduce Jasprit Bumrah into the attack proved decisive. Bumrah’s tight bowling restricted South Africa to just 6 runs in his last two overs, significantly raising their required run rate.
Ultimately, South Africa found themselves needing 16 runs from the final over, which Hardik Pandya successfully defended to secure India’s triumph. This victory marked India’s first ICC trophy in 11 years, highlighting Sharma’s strategic acumen and Bumrah’s crucial role in the team’s success.
Paras Mhambrey credits Rohit Sharma for ‘instinct’
In a discussion with sports journalist Vimal Kumar, Paras Mhambrey shared his insights on Rohit Sharma’s captaincy and strategic bowling changes. Mhambrey recalled a specific instance during a match against Australia when Rohit Sharma opted to bring Jasprit Bumrah back into the attack in the 17th over. Initially, Mhambrey admitted it seemed like a questionable decision. However, Bumrah’s subsequent dismissal of Travis Head proved pivotal, shifting the momentum decisively in India’s favor.
“At that stage, he gave the 16th over to (Jasprit) Bumrah. But we thought that it was too early to bring Bumrah into the attack and he should have kept his overs for the end, maybe he could have bowled the 18th and the 20th over. But if you see the over, he got the wicket of Travis Head and the game changed. So, we have that confidence in him,” Mhambrey said.
Mhambrey also hailed Rohit Sharma’s instinctive calls and his game-awareness, which makes him so good as a captain.
“He has been the captain for so many years. He has great understanding and awareness of a game situation. You might have seen in the IPL. But as a captain, he has that instinct to make those game-changing decisions. He is one captain who leads with instinct,” Mhambrey stated.
“He reads the situation well. He knows what to do in every situation, whether it is important to pick up a wicket or to take the game deep. I have seen a lot of times where we feel this decision is not right but in the end, it turns out to be a game-changing one. One of the examples is against Australia where Bumrah picked up the wicket of Travis Head straight away after being introduced into the attack,” he added.
Rohit Sharma reads the game situation well – Paras Mhambrey
Paras Mhambrey highlighted another instance of Rohit Sharma’s astute leadership during a crucial match, where he effectively managed India’s pace bowling resources. Mhambrey pointed out that Rohit strategically rotated his trio of pacers—Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya with precision, ultimately turning the game around and seizing control from South Africa’s grip.
“Another example is the game against South Africa in the final. We knew the way (Heinrich) Klaasen and (David) Miller are batting, the game would have been over by 18th or 19th over even if they score 9-10 runs an over. But I knew that Rohit Sharma is reading the game well and when he brought Bumrah, it was the right stage as we needed a wicket. We had to get one over out of Hardik (Pandya) because we didn’t have options and Rohit did pretty well to get one over out of Hardik,” the former India bowling coach explained.
“The way he (Rohit Sharma) formed the sequence of Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh in the final overs, it was the perfect decision at that stage. We needed wickets at that stage. If we hadn’t picked up wickets, the game would have drifted away from us slowly. We knew that he will take the right decisions and he reads the game situation well. It was the correct decision,” Mhambrey added.
