Gautam Gambhir credited MS Dhoni's backing of Rohit Sharma as the reason behind the latter's phenomenal rise in Indian cricket.
With cricket action coming to a standstill, the players are taking it to social media platforms to talk about the game and beyond. Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir participated in one such live chat with Sports Tak, where he talked about the coronavirus pandemic and Indian cricket.
While talking about the latter, he also touched upon Rohit Sharma's phenomenal rise as a batsman. He credited MS Dhoni's relentless backing of Rohit as the reason behind his success.
"Where Rohit Sharma is today, it is because of MS Dhoni," Gambhir said.
"You can talk about the selection committee and team management, but if you do not have the backing from your captain than it is all useless.
"Everything is in the hands of the captain. How MS Dhoni had backed Rohit Sharma over a period of time, I do not think any player has been given such support."
He also believes that Rohit, who is now a senior player in the side, reciprocates and offer backing to the upcoming players in the side. Naming Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson, Gambhir insisted that India's limited-overs vice-captain needs to show a similar kind of support for youngsters.
"I hope the young cricketers in the current generation today, be it Shubman Gill (or) Sanju Samson, they also get similar kind of support. And now when Rohit is a senior, I expect him to give backing to youngsters," said Gambhir.
"Rohit is a prime example of how a player can become a phenomenal cricketer, if he has good backing. One good thing about MS was that he always kept Rohit in the talks, even if was not part of the team, he was always part of the group. He never let him get sidelined.
"I expect Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to groom the youngsters in the same way in which MS Dhoni groomed them."
