“He literally walked the talk” - Suryakumar Yadav hails Rohit Sharma for leading by example in the 2023 World Cup

Team India batter Suryakumar Yadav has praised Rohit Sharma for leading from the front in the 2023 World Cup campaign. He asserted that the Indian players will try to follow his example during the upcoming T20I series against Australia.

Rohit took on the mantle of scoring at a rapid pace for India in the powerplay during the World Cup, thereby putting the opposition under pressure. Despite his high-risk approach, he finished as the second-leading run-getter in the tournament, smashing 597 runs in 11 innings at an average of 54.27 and a strike rate of 125.95.

Suryakumar will be leading the Indian side in the five-match T20I series against Australia, which begins in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. Speaking at a press conference ahead of the series, he hailed Rohit over his World Cup exploits.

"That's one thing which will set the example - what he has done in the World Cup. It was a completely different Rohit Sharma what you saw. I mean, he literally walked the talk. I mean, what we spoke about in the team meeting, he did the same thing on the ground, and we are very proud of him as a leader. He led by example, and hopefully we try and replicate the same thing,” he said.

Rohit hit the most sixes (31) during the 2023 ODI World Cup. Among batters with most fours, he was second with 66, next to only Virat Kohli (68).

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“Both of them are equal front runners” - Suryakumar on keeper-batters Ishan Kishan and Jitesh Sharma

India have picked two wicketkeeper-batters - Ishan Kishan and Jitesh Sharma - for the T20Is against Australia. On who would be the preferred choice among the two, Suryakumar replied that both are equally strong contenders.

“He’s [Jitesh] been doing really well and we wanted to keep that continuity from the last tournament. He’s been working really hard and Ishan has been doing really well for us, batting at different positions. Both of them are equal front runners,” he asserted.

On what brand of cricket, he would like to see the Indian youngsters play during the T20Is against Australia, Suryakumar replied that he wants them to be fearless and play for the team.

“Keeping the T20 World Cup in mind, the games which we are going to play until then are very important. My message to them is very clear, just be fearless and do whatever it takes to help the team. They have been doing that in the IPL, they have played a lot of domestic cricket as well recently, so they are in good nick,” he added.

After the Visakhapatnam T20I, the remaining matches of the series will be played in Thiruvananthapuram (November 26), Guwahati (November 28), Raipur (December 1), and Bengaluru (December 3).