Rohit's mantra: A personalised approach is key

Rohit Sharma's success as captain hinges on his personalized approach, adapting his strategies to suit each player's strengths and needs.

- Ashish Magotra

MELBOURNE: Captaincy demands a mindset as varied as the individuals in the squad. You need to know when to be sympathetic and when to have a stern word or two. And can your attitude be the same with youngsters as it is with seniors?

A five-Test away series demands a lot from a captain because he has to deal with not just those in the playing XI but also make sure the rest of the squad remains in fine fettle.

For Rohit Sharma, this means having a very personalised approach to captaincy. Every individual needs something different to get the best out of them and that is how he has been trying to marshal his troops.

An example of Rohit's approach can be seen in how he deals with Yashasvi Jaiswal. The left-hander started the tour off with a superb century at Perth but has struggled to find his best after that.

"Jaiswal's coming here for the first time," said Rohit on Tuesday. "And he's already shown what he's capable of. You know, he's got so much talent. And when you have a guy like that in your team, you don't want to tamper too much with his mindset. Let him be as free as possible and not be overburdened with too many thoughts regarding his batting. He understands his batting more than any one of us, you know.