‘Rohit Sharma texted me 2:30 at night…’: Piyush Chawla shares intriguing story involving Indian skipper

New Delhi: As we all know the legacy of Indian captain Rohit Sharma who has been widely praised for his leadership skills across both, the national team and IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, where he led from 2013 until last year. If we talk about the most successful captains in IPL, Rohit Sharma tasted his first success with India earlier this year when the Men in Blue lifted the T20 World Cup in June. Under Rohit’s captaincy, India came painfully close to lifting two other ICC titles, the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup, both in 2023.

It is worth mentioning that many cricketers have praised their experiences playing or working under Rohit Sharma, often highlighting the strong bond they share with the Indian captain. Piyush Chawla is one of them, the veteran Indian spinner who played under Rohit’s leadership during the IPL 2023 season, has opened up and speaks highly of the unbreakable commitment of the Indian skipper displayed towards them.

According to Piyush Chawla’s stats, he had a strong season in 2023, grabbing 22 wickets in 16 matches and ending as the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the season. The spinner recalled a moment during the season when Rohit called Chawla to his room at 2:30 in the night to discuss a strategy against Delhi Capitals’ opener, David Warner.

Going back in the 2023 IPL season, Mumbai Indians qualified for the playoffs but lost to Gujarat Titans in the second qualifier match in Ahmedabad. Chennai Super Kings went on to win the season and Hardik Pandya eventually succeeded Rohit as MI’s skipper later in the year.

The veteran spinner further emphasised that Rohit Sharma is more of a “leader” than a captain, citing the examples from the previous year’s ODI World Cup and the T20 World Cup this year.

“There’s a captain, then there’s a leader. He isn’t a captain, he is a leader. Whether it was the 2023 ODI World Cup or the 2024 T20 World Cup, the way he batted, he set the tone in such a way that he made it easy for the next batters. He’s a true leader. He gives you a free hand,” said Piyush Chawla.