Former Indian cricketer Jatin Paranjape hailed Rohit Sharma for leading the Team India to T20 World Cup 2024 triumph by defeating South Africa in the Final at the Kensington Oval in Barbados' Bridgetown on Saturday, June 29.
Under the dynamic captaincy of Rohit Sharma, Team India finally ended their 11-year ICC and 13-year World Cup titles drought. Also, the Men in Blue put an end to the T20 World Cup trophy-less streak after 17 years, with their previous title victory coming in the inaugural edition of the tournament under the leadership of MS Dhoni in 2007.
With this T20 World Cup 2024 triumph, Rohit Sharma became the third Indian captain after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni to win a World Cup. Jatin Paranjape praised Rohit for being 'khadoos' with his strategy and sticking with the same tactic throughout the tournament.
"Khadoos basically means obsessive and very stubborn and it generally has a defensive connotation for a batsman. Essentially, Khadoos means someone stubbornly sticking to their strategy. The Indian team's strategy was an out-on-out attack and he has been khadoos with his strategy." Paranjape told Free Press Journal.
The Khadoos word is often used in the Mumbai cricket arena to describe a player who is stern, strict or grumpy. Since Rohit Sharma came through the ranks of Mumbai Cricket, he has been often described as a player who has Khadoos mindset, known for his focus and determined denamour on the field.
Jatin Paranjape lauds Rohit Sharma for ending his T20I career with World Cup high
Former Indian cricketer lauded Rohit Sharma for finishing his illustrious T20I career with T20 World Cup triumph. He added that how IPL sizzled him as a player and as a captain.
"It's just a fantastic way to end his T20I career, which has seen him coming to international cricket in this format in 2007 T20 World Cup and kept playing his game." Jatin Paranjape said.
"IPL also sizzled him a lot as a player and then he was handed a Mumbai Indians' captaincy. Then he won the IPL four times (five) for MI which sizzled his captaincy. So, he is Mumbai's kind of strategic thinker when it comes to playing his big games. So, really proud of that he had done what he has." he added.
Apart from winning the T20 World Cup triumph for Team India, Rohit Sharma led Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles, making him the joint-most successful captain alongside former Chennai Super Kings skipper in the history of cash-rich franchise cricket league.
Rohit Sharma retired from the T20Is as the leading run-getter, amassing 4231 runs, including five centuries and 32 fifties, at an average of 32.05 and a strike rate of 140.89 in 159 matches.
