Kieron Pollard has heaped praise on Rohit Sharma and said that the MI skipper has grown as a leader ever since he was entrusted with captaincy by the franchise mid-way through the 2013 season.
Rohit is the most successful captain in the history of the IPL as he has won the title five times while leading MI. 24th April marked 10 years of him being the skipper of the franchise and MI has decided to dedicate the RR game on Sunday to mark the occasion. 30th April is also the Indian captain’s 36th birthday.
Speaking ahead of the game, Pollard, who has worked under Rohit in MI said that the 36-year-old has grown as leader since being given the role in the middle of the 2013 season.
“He’s grown as a leader. I mean he’s grown into leadership. Obviously, it was entrusted onto him in 2013 in the middle of a season. He was still pretty young at that point in time,” said Pollard.
The current MI batting coach also said, despite being young when he took up captaincy, Rohit was a quick learner and always showed leadership potential.
Pollard also said MI was lucky to have him as their leader.
“That shows you that a person has a great acumen of what he can accomplish and we are lucky to have him as a leader. He has a wealth of experience, so it’s a matter of tapping into that and continuing to see him grow,” said Pollard.
MI head coach Mark Boucher also praised Rohit and said he always enjoyed watching the MI skipper bat.
“He (Rohit) has been great. I used to always enjoy watching Rohit bat, sometimes from behind the stumps as well. I have played a bit of cricket with him and watched him grow into a quality cricketer but also a good leader. It’s going to be nice for him. It’s his birthday as well, so a big moment for him,” Boucher said.
