The numbers which define Rohit Sharma's captaincy in T20I cricket
Rohit Sharma has enjoyed a gala time leading Team India so far. The opener replaced Virat Kohli as India's white-ball captain following the ICC T20 World Cup last year. Earlier this year, he also took over the reins of the Test team. Rohit already has some prominent leadership records under his belt. Let's look at how he has fared as T20I captain.
Fifth-most wins as skipper
Rohit is already the fifth-most successful T20I skipper, having guided India to 35 wins in 45 games. Among Indians, the 35-year-old is just second to the legendary MS Dhoni, who took the team to 41 victories in 71 games. Asghar Afghan (42), Eoin Morgan (42) and Aaron Finch (37) are others above the Indian opener in the elite list.
Win percentage of 77.77 as skipper
Among captains who have stood in at least 40 T20Is, Rohit's win percentage of 77.77 is only second to Asghar Afghan's 81.73. No other skipper in this category even has a win percentage in excess of 66. Among Indians, Kohli follows Rohit with a win percentage of 64.58. The talismanic batter guided India to 30 wins in 50 games (excluding Super-Over wins).
Second-most wins in a calendar year
Rohit has so far guided India to 17 T20I victories in 2022, most by an Indian skipper in a calendar year. He surpassed Dhoni's tally of 15 wins in the recently-concluded series against South Africa. While Rohit's tally is only second to Babar Azam (20), he shares the record with Sarfaraz Ahmed. Rohit can go past the Pakistan duo during the T20 WC 2022.
First 10 games as captain
Rohit created some sensational leadership records even before becoming full-time skipper. The Indian opener won nine of his first 10 T20Is as captain, most for any player. Shoaib Malik, Michael Clarke, Asghar Afghan, and Sarfaraz Ahmed jointly hold the second place with eight wins apiece. Rohit also holds the record of winning most consecutive T20Is as captain (14).
Nearly invincible at home
The 35-year-old has particularly been brilliant in home T20Is. His tally of 21 wins in 24 home matches is the highest for any captain. New Zealand's Kane Williamson and England's Eoin Morgan jointly hold the second place with 15 wins apiece. The duo has taken 30 and 25 matches respectively. Among Indians, Kohli follows Rohit with 13 wins in 23 outings.
King of clean sweeps
Rohit guided India to a T20I series whitewash in his maiden leadership assignment against Sri Lanka in the year 2017. So far, he has guided the Men in Blue to five whitewashes in T20Is. In a series of at least three matches, only Pakistan's Sarfaraz Ahmed has recorded as many clean sweeps. Asghar Afghan is second on the list with four such series wins.
Brilliant in bilateral series
India have won 10 bilateral T20I series under skipper Rohit while losing just one (considering series where Rohit led in all matches). The team suffered a 2-1 loss under him against New Zealand in 2019. Besides bilateral series, he guided India to the Nidahas Trophy title in 2018 - a tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. India, however, lost Asia Cup 2022 under him.
Rohit Sharma's batting numbers as captain
The opener's batting numbers have also enhanced while leading the team. His tally of 1,411 T20I runs as skipper is only second to Kohli (1,570) among Indians and sixth-highest overall. Finch (2,089), Babar (1,749), Williamson (1,674), Morgan (1,469) are the others ahead of Rohit in the elite list. Among the aforementioned players, only Rohit's strike rate is over 150 as skipper.
Some other feats of Rohit
Rohit and Babar Azam are the only players to slam two T20I centuries as skipper (full-member players). The former also has two T20I centuries while not leading. His 35-ball ton against SL in 2017 is the fastest for a captain in the format.
