Rahul Dravid gives huge credit to Rohit Sharma for India’s aggressive T20I mindset shift

Former India head coach Rahul Dravid praised Rohit Sharma for his significant contribution in transforming the team’s T20 cricket. Even though Rohit has stepped back from the T20I and Test formats, he continues to shine as an ODI cricketer and recently participated in the three-match series against Australia. Under Rohit’s leadership, India became a formidable force in the shortest format of the game by clinching the T20 World Cup 2024 title.

As his career progressed, Rohit revamped his batting style, adopting a more aggressive approach to provide India with early momentum. This proactive strategy proved successful, ending a long and frustrating wait for the ICC award.

Dravid, who served as head coach during Rohit’s captaincy, stated that he had discussions with the experienced player about the future direction of the team. The result of these conversations was the positive intent that became the hallmark of India’s batting in T20 cricket.

“I can’t talk about what happened before me and it’s not my place to say but from the moment I came in with Rohit there was definitely a lot of discussion that we wanted to play a more aggressive style of cricket,” Dravid said on Breakfast with Champions.

“We (Rohit and I) started from the very beginning because we could see the game evolving that way. And to take the team in a certain direction, Rohit needs to take a lot of credit for that. Play the game much more aggressively and in a much more positive manner,” he added.

Dravid believes India has established the standard of T20I batting and now the rest of the world is trying to match it.

“I’m glad we’re continuing to move in that direction to the point where I think India has literally, absolutely changed what T20 cricket is like. I think Indian batting in T20 cricket is off the charts right now. I mean, it’s close to 300. And everybody in the world has to catch up now. I think in three or four years you see everybody looking at India and saying, ‘Damn, man, we’ve got to match that.’ So, I can’t say (match) like me. I would say (pairing) these players,” Dravid said.

After Rohit’s retirement, Suryakumar Yadav excelled as the T20I captain and led India to notable victories. The Men in Blue recently clinched the Asia Cup 2025 title by competing in the T20 format and finishing the tournament without a single defeat.

Dravid acknowledged his role in developing India’s aggressive strategy but emphasized that it was the players who were truly responsible for successful execution.

“They are the players who do it. I mean, I’m not saying they shouldn’t be credited, but it needs to be driven by the leaders. It needs to be driven by the captain. It needs to be driven by the players because they have to do it. They have to take risks. You might be giving them a certain amount of security, but ultimately they are the ones who are going to take those chances and risks,” he said.

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