Players "Gravitate" Towards Rohit Sharma: Rahul Dravid's Monumental Praise After Test Series Win vs England

10.03.2024 - 02:35 sports.ndtv.com

Rohit Sharma's captaincy was rather understated vis-a-vis Ben Stokes' on-the-edge methods, but India head coach Rahul Dravid was delighted to see the players identify themselves with the Mumbaikar's leadership principles.

Under Rohit, India never made tall claims even once but silently and categorically nullified the visitors' much-talked-about 'Bazball' and grabbed the five-match series 4-1. "I'm privileged to work with a lovely team.

I'm learning from them all the time. Rohit has been fantastic to work with. I think he's a terrific leader, and the guys gravitate towards him phenomenally, which is fantastic to see," said Dravid told broadcasters after the match.

Dravid said India's series win was dotted by several shining moments but acknowledged that the return of Ravichandran Ashwin from a personal emergency underlined the character of this outfit. "I'd just say Ashwin coming back to the team after what he went through (as the stand-out moment).

cricket India Cricket Team England Cricket Team India vs England 2024 Rohit Sharma Rahul Dravid India

Skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday said he revelled in the company of his young "mischievous" teammates and was overwhelmed by emotions as they made their debuts during India's monumental 4-1 Test series triumph over England. In absence of some big stars including Virat Kohli, the five-Test home series saw five youngsters -- Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Akash Deep and Devdutt Padikkal -- make their debut as India showed resilience to fight back after losing the opening Test in Hyderabad.

"Kabhi Kabhi Bol Deta Hun": Rohit Sharma Breaks Silence On Outburst On Young India Stars During England Tests

India captain Rohit Sharma hailed the performance of the debutants in the recently concluded Test series vs England and called the series one of the toughest of his Test career. Speaking exclusively about the hard-fought series on Team Ro on Instagram, Rohit said, “A five Test match series is always tough, always hard, a lot of challenges through that one and a half to two months that we need to go through. It was a very different experience to play that five Test series and against an opposition like England, we knew it was never going to be easy. We have to be at our best and certainly towards the end, I could say that we are at our best to come out on top on four occasions. So very, very pleased with how we played that series.”

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Unbeaten in the tournament until the final, India suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Australia in the summit clash for the ODI World Cup 2023. With India's loss, ended the dream of millions of people to see the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and others lifting the coveted trophy. While there were several factors behind the team's loss, one of the biggest ones that has been discussed since the catastrophic result is the nature of the pitch. Many feel that the curator did a little too much to swing the game in India's favour. Now, former India batter Mohammad Kaif has admitted that the hosts did try to doctor the match, and unfortunately, went overboard.

Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma Unsure, Ajit Agarkar Pushed For Young Star's Test Debut: Report

India's 5-match Test series against England gave the team management the opportunity to try some of the next-generation stars. The likes of Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Akash Deep, and Dhruv Jurel, all made their debuts in the series, and produced performances worthy of cementing their places in the squad, to say the least. But, it has now been learned that some of these debuts didn't come from the head coach Rahul Dravid, or skipper Rohit Sharma. Instead, it was the chief selector Ajit Agarkar who pushed the team management into selecting some of these players.

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It has been a tough couple of months for Shreyas Iyer. The batter was not included in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) central contracts list and his form for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy was extremely disappointing. However, Shreyas was in fine touch on Tuesday as he slammed 95 off 111 balls and his celebration has gone viral on social media. Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma was in attendance during the Ranji Trophy final match against Vidarbha and it was a perfect time for Iyer to find some form. He looked extremely in control against the bowlers and scored a gritty half-century.

Secret Behind India's Six Hitting? Rahul Dravid's Epic Response Floors Everyone

The India vs England Test series was entertaining on all aspects. While the five-match contest offered some gritty knocks and promising spells, it also saw a world record being registered in terms of sixes. India and England together hit a total of 102 sixes, which is the most in any Test series. Rohit Sharma and Co. hit 72 of them while guests England smashed the remaining 30. Out of the ones India hit, Yashasvi Jaiswal individually accounted for 29 sixes. He also went on to break Rohit's world record of hitting most sixes in a Test series.