Rohit Sharma led India's white-ball evolution from the front: Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid reflected on India's rise in white-ball cricket and the evolution of leadership within the team, while crediting Rohit Sharma for spearheading the change.

Former India coach Rahul Dravid believes the bigger story lies in how Rohit Sharma has reshaped India’s white-ball thinking and led a quiet yet decisive revolution at the top.

Speaking at a special event celebrating The Rise of the Hitman, a book on Rohit Sharma authored by R. Kaushik, Dravid reflected on India’s evolution in limited-overs cricket and the leadership qualities that have defined Rohit’s tenure. The event, hosted by Jain Sports, was held at the KSCA and brought together voices that have closely witnessed Rohit’s journey from prodigious talent to transformational leader.

Dravid, who worked closely with Rohit during his time as India head coach, did not shy away from placing India among the frontrunners for the T20 World Cup, citing consistency and adaptability in a notoriously volatile format.

“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.

Beyond results, Dravid stressed that India’s rise in white-ball cricket was driven by a conscious shift in mindset—one that Rohit Sharma embraced and embodied from the front. According to Dravid, there was a growing realisation within the Indian setup that the game was changing rapidly, and standing still was no longer an option.

“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.