‘He took responsibility’ - Rahul Dravid explains how Rohit Sharma led by example to take Indian team forward

Former India head coach Rahul Dravidhas shed light on the thinking behind India’s evolving white-ball approach and credited Rohit Sharma for leading the change from the front. 

Speaking at an event celebrating a book on Rohit Sharma written by senior cricket journalist R Kaushik, Dravid highlighted how India consciously moved towards a more aggressive mindset in limited-overs cricket under the captaincy of the Mumbai batter.

The veteran India cricketer admitted that there was a growing realisation within

the team management that the side was falling behind the curve as run rates and risk-taking approaches continued to rise across the world. What stood out for Dravid was Rohit’s willingness to shoulder responsibility himself rather than placing expectations on others, and the former coach showered praises on the captain for his selflessness.

“There was a feeling that we were slightly behind in white-ball cricket and needed to push the envelope a little more. Run rates were going up, risk-taking was increasing, and we needed to adapt to that reality,” Dravid said at a book launch event, 'The Rise of the Hitman: The Rohit Sharma Story'. 

“What was brilliant was that Rohit took the lead immediately. He took responsibility for setting the tempo himself, rather than asking others to do it. When your leader stands up and says, ‘I will do this, even if it comes at the cost of my average or my personal numbers,’ it becomes much easier to pass that message through the team,” he explained further.

Dravid’s remarks offer a rare insight into how leadership, clarity, and selflessness helped reshape India’s modern limited-overs philosophy. 

Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid, a successful captain-coach duo 

Rohit and Dravid established a highly successful captain-coach partnership for India, defining an aggressive white-ball batting style. Their tenure was highlighted by winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, reaching the 2023 ODI World Cup final, and winning the 2023 Asia Cup title, transforming India's approach to aggressive cricket.

The Indore-born resigned from the coach’s position after India’s triumph at the 2024 T20 World Cup, whereas Rohit, too, had announced his retirement from the shortest format. Since then, star cricketer Suryakumar Yadav has been appointed as the full-time captain of India's T20I side.