Why it’s time for Suryakumar Yadav to follow in Rohit Sharma’s footsteps | Cricket News –

New Delhi: On the eve of the 2026 T20 World Cup final against New Zealand, India captain Suryakumar Yadav was vocal about the fact that he is only following in Rohit Sharma’s footsteps.When asked if he felt the position of his predecessor Rohit Sharma was too big to fill, he said: “Gota mera hai hai, footsteps unki hain. (Sir, the shoe is mine, I’m just following his steps.) On a serious note, he spoke about the nuggets he picked up from Rohit’s captaincy.

“The way he left things, I learned a lot from him when I was playing under him. So I also followed the same strategy and the same basics.“I have played a lot of cricket with Rohit. I know how he works. So I tried to implement the same things with some ideas of my own as well. It worked really well,” he said.Suryakumar Yadav is not wrong in giving credit to Rohit Sharma. It was Rohit who laid out the blueprint for India after India’s ten-wicket hammering at the hands of England in Adelaide during the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final.

After the match, Rohit said that this is not the way his team will play. He walked the talk, and there was a conscious effort to bat harder. You have brought success to India.The aggressive brand of cricket that Rohit has instilled in the DNA of the Indian white-ball team can be seen in the performances and ICC titles won by India.

In hindsight, Syria is not wrong. It’s still Rohit’s team. Nine of the 15 players in the team won the title in the Caribbean. It is the same nucleus that, under Rohit, ended India’s 11-year drought of not winning an ICC title. Suriya himself has flourished under Rohit’s leadership, be it for India or for Mumbai Indians

Indian Premier League

. The same can be said about

Jasprit Bumrah

And Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan.

Then there

Sanju Samson

. Midway through the tournament, when Suriya was asked if the batsman should be added to the top three, who was one-dimensional with Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma, all stalwarts from the south, Suriya laughed and said: “Do you mean I should play him in Abhishek’s place? Do you mean I should make him play with Tilak?”Sanju ended up playing three match-winning hits on the bounce and became the player of the tournament.

Two years ago, Rohit spent ten minutes with Sanju Samson before the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa, explaining why he would not play in the final, despite initially being told he would play.“I was given the opportunity to play in the final. I was told to stay ready. I was ready. However, they decided before the draw that we would go with the same team,” Samson told journalist Vimal Kumar during a chat.“He spent 10 minutes with the player who was not playing just before the draw.

He gave me 10 minutes before ejaculation. And then I realized that this person had other qualities. If I were him, I would think about the players who were playing or my batting. This is what you usually think. At that point, he thought to himself: “I have to explain to Sanju why I took this decision.” In that moment, he earned a place in my heart that will last a lifetime.

“

Surya certainly does not yet have the leadership aura that Rohit had.

But he will always be remembered as only the third Indian captain after MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to lift the T20 World Cup.What Suriya can really learn from Rohit is how to get away at the right moment.

Rohit did it in 2024. He was still at his best, but he knew he had to prepare for the future. With the World Cup in his hands, he stepped aside from the T20Is and made way for the next generation.Syria now stands at a similar crossroads. The timing couldn’t be better. He walked away from the top and passed the baton to the next generation, and his legacy will be not just about lifting a trophy, but about knowing when the future should begin.