Rohit led the Mumbai Indians to an unprecedented fifth IPL title Tuesday, impressing not only with half a century but also with a crafty captaincy.
“He always thought of winning and he never thought of losing,” Lad told PTI on Wednesday.
“When he was given the responsibility of leading the Mumbai Indians, he showed his qualities and that became a plus in his career. His responsibility increased and not the pressure,” he added.
It was Lad who first gave Rohit the opportunity to lead cricket in school and Rohit rarely failed.
“I had felt his leadership qualities since school days. I remember the days when school cricket, when I asked him to lead the team, he used to win games without help.
“In one case, the team was 30-40 by five or six and had opened the innings looking for 220-230.
“I was nervous and thought we had lost the game. I sent him a message to take the game to the end, he responded by saying ‘I’ll make sure we win the game’ and we finally won it,” he added.
Lad, however, declined to give a definitive answer when asked if Rohit should lead the team in Testing in Australia in virat Kohliabsence.
“I can’t say anything about it. It is up to BCCI and the selectors. If Rohit is given the opportunity to lead, he will do well as seen in the past when he has captained India in some tournaments such as the Nidahas trophy, they have emerged champions.
“I can’t say that Rohit should be named captain. But given (the opportunity), he can also prove something. Virat is more aggressive while Rohit is calm and collected. He leads with a cool head.” Lad said.
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