Empathy-led leadership: Rohit Sharma's captaincy mantra

For Rohit Sharma, this translates to a highly individualized style of captaincy. He recognizes that each player has unique needs to perform at their best, and he has been dedicated to tailoring his approach to effectively lead his team.

An example of Rohit’s approach can be seen in how he deals with Yashasvi Jaiswal. The left-hander started the tour off with a superb century at Perth but has struggled to find his best after that.

“Jaiswal’s coming here for the first time,” said Rohit on Tuesday. “And he’s already shown what he’s capable of. You know, he’s got so much talent. And when you have a guy like that in your team, you don’t want to tamper too much with his mindset. Let him be as free as possible and not be overburdened with too many thoughts regarding his batting. He understands his batting more than any one of us, you know.

“And that’s how he’s played his cricket. And that’s how he’s scored all of his runs in domestic cricket, in international cricket. And when you have a talent like that, all you want to do is encourage more and more to make sure he just goes out there and plays his game freely more than anything else.”

The job with so many of these youngsters is to talk them through the challenges of each venue and what it might demand from the cricketers. For them, it’s just about adapting to those challenges, playing on different pitches.

While Jaiswal has had at least one big knock, Shubman Gill hasn’t managed to convert his starts into a big score. For him, Rohit adopts an empathetic approach.

“Gill has obviously been one of our young prospects who’s coming up and playing really, really well. You know, these tours can be challenging. It’s the same thing when some of these teams travel to India. It’s very hard for them as well. So, it’s the same thing. You know, when you travel abroad, it’s not that easy to put on those big runs every time you step out.

“But Gill is quality. We all know that. It’s just about backing that quality and making sure we give clear messaging to him. So, it’s just making sure that when you get those 30s, 40s, you try and get on to a big one. Because getting in here is the toughest part. And when you get in, that is when you cannot leave that opportunity of scoring those big runs.”

For Rishabh Pant, the challenge is ensuring that the keeper’s own expectations are kept in check. The left-hander is a fierce competitor and Rohit knows that. So, the talk with him is mostly about the match awareness needed and the match situation.

“He has a good record in Australia,” said Rohit. “After two or three Test matches, it’s not right to judge him. He knows what he has to do. Rishabh knows what his expectations are. He has a lot of expectations from himself and he’s working hard on his game.”

Perhaps the easiest player to captain in this team at the moment is Jasprit Bumrah. And Rohit knows that all he needs to do is get out of the way.

“It’s very easy not to say anything. He knows exactly what he’s doing, how he operates. He’s got so much belief in his own skill set that there’s not much discussion that we need to have with him.”

Rohit added: “I’ve captained him for a long time. I know how he thinks, what he’s trying to do. It makes it a little easier for me not to think too much while he’s bowling. Only because he’s so clear in his mind. The conversations that happen during the game gives me confidence that I know what the guy is trying to do. There’s nothing much that I can add there. It’s very simple with him. It makes it very easy for me.”

The toughest part of captaincy, though, is the balancing act. Making sure that those in form lend a helping hand to those who are struggling. That is sometimes easier said than done. But a happy dressing room is also one that can truly focus on the game, and with two vital games coming up, Rohit will have to be at his best, as batter and captain

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