Rahul Dravid BACKS India as T20 World Cup favourites, praises Rohit Sharma’s leadership, says…

Rahul Dravid discusses India’s white-ball progress, Rohit Sharma’s leadership and T20 World Cup preparations at the launch of The Rise of the Hitman in New Delhi.

ICC Meb's T20 World Cup 2026, Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, KSCA, Venkatesh Prasad — L–R: Hockey legend Dhanraj Pillay, author R. Kaushik, Dr Chenraj Roychand, Chairman, JGI Group, cricketing icons, GR Vishwanath and Rahul Dravid, and double Olympic medallist P.R. Sreejesh

New Delhi: Rahul Dravid spoke about India’s progress in white-ball cricket and the evolution of leadership during a special event marking the launch of The Rise of the Hitman by author R. Kaushik, sharing his views on Rohit Sharma’s influence and India’s preparation for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The event was hosted by Jain Sports at the KSCA.

The legendary batter backed Suryakumar Yadav-led India as the favorites for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. “India are playing T20 cricket at a different level than most teams. They have had an 80% success rate in the last few years, which is amazing in a format that has so many ups and downs. They clearly start as favorites and they will make it to the semi-finals but as I have learned to my bitter disappointment, it’s about the better team on the day. Anybody can play a good knock and upset you.” Dravid said.

Dravid praised Rohit for guiding India into a new avatar

Dravid showered praise on Rohit Sharma for guiding India into a new avatar in the limited-overs format. “There was a feeling that we were slightly behind in white-ball cricket and needed to push the envelope a little more. Run rates were going up, risk-taking was increasing, and we needed to adapt to that reality,” Dravid remarked.

Rahul Dravid further said, “What was brilliant was that Rohit took the lead immediately. He took responsibility for setting the tempo himself, rather than asking others to do it. When your leader stands up and says, ‘I will do this, even if it comes at the cost of my average or my personal numbers,’ it becomes much easier to pass that message through the team.”

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Reflecting on Rohit’s transition into leadership of the Indian team, Dravid remarked, “I thought Rohit managed the transition into leadership really well. The team never felt that he had changed, and that is a rare and important quality in a leader.”

KSCA President reflected on his association with Rohit

Dravid’s former teammate and KSCA President Venkatesh Prasad joined the discussion virtually, reflecting on his association with Rohit across various stages of his career. He praised Rohit Sharma’s achievements and remarkable longevity at the highest level.

“Being conferred with the Padma Shri is a huge achievement and Rohit Sharma fully deserves it. Having played for so many years across formats and created an extraordinary body of work, he stands out as the only Indian player to have won two T20 World Cups,” Prasad said.

Recalling his time coaching Sharma in the Under-19 setup, Prasad added, “I have been seeing Rohit from the time he was 16 or 17 when he played for the India Under-19 team. Even then, you could see the sheer of talent and potential. What struck me from the very beginning was how much time he had to play his shots. You can easily compare Rohit Sharma with any of the greats that India has produced. That is the quality of batter we are talking about.”