Sunil Gavaskar impressed with Rohit Sharma’s captaincy acumen

Sharma was named captain for the ongoing tournament after India’s selectors decided to rest Virat Kohli with an eye on the two-Test series against the Windies in October, which will be followed by a tour of Australia.

Sharma has seen India to victories in all their three matches in the Asia Cup so far, including a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Pakistan.

Crucially, captaincy hasn’t affected his form – he has two half-centuries in three matches, including an unbeaten 83 against Bangladesh.

Gavaskar said Sharma’s captaincy had always impressed him, right from when he first led Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. “The first time he led Mumbai Indians to an IPL win, that was his first season as a captain and he impressed straight away with his knowledge of what to do next more than what to plan,” said Gavaskar.

In his previous outings as India captain, Sharma led India to 2-1 and 3-0 victories over Sri Lanka in one-day internationals and Twenty20 Internationals in December, and followed it up with victory in the Nidahas (T20) Trophy against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in March.

“Every time he has got an opportunity to captain India, he has shown his acumen,” said Gavaskar. “He has shown how patient he can be, and then as a batsman, the added responsibility only makes him better.”

Gavaskar was also impressed with Ravindra Jadeja after the left-arm spinner marked his ODI comeback with figures of 4/29 against Bangladesh on Friday, 22 September.

"I think Ravindra Jadeja merits his place because I believe he is a better bowler, batsman, and fielder (than Axar Patel, who Jadeja replaced),” said Gavaskar.