Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has highlighted Rohit Sharma’s communication style as one of the biggest reasons behind the calm atmosphere he helped create in the dressing room during difficult periods. Nayar, who spent eight challenging months as part of Gautam Gambhir’s support staff in 2024, said Rohit never looked to shift blame onto others after defeats and always tried to shoulder responsibility himself.
His comments come at a time when Shreyas Iyer’s leadership is under scrutiny. India are still searching for their first win under Iyer after being whitewashed 2-0 by Ireland and then falling 3-0 behind against England in the ongoing T20I series, with one match still to play. While Iyer has contributed with the bat, India’s middle-order inconsistency, fielding lapses, and a few questionable selection calls have made his early captaincy stint difficult.
Nayar pointed out that Rohit handled losses very differently. Speaking on JioStar’s Googlies, he recalled how the India captain would calmly address the team after setbacks, making sure the dressing room remained united rather than tense.
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“We had Rohit Sharma as captain, and I remember him coming out after the Mumbai Test and saying in the press conference, ‘It’s okay. We’ve won so many series, we’ve lost this one, and I’ll take responsibility for it,’” Abhishek Nayar said. According to him, that kind of honesty and accountability helped the team stay relaxed even after painful defeats.
The former coach added that Rohit had a natural ability to look after his players. If someone was out of form or emotionally affected by a loss, Rohit made it a point to check on them and lift their confidence. In Nayar’s view, that was one of the most valuable traits the former India captain brought to the group.
“He would always think about who was hurt the most, who had not scored runs, and how he could make them feel better. What I admired most was that he never blamed anyone. You would never hear him say, ‘You did this’ or ‘You did that.’ He would simply say, ‘I failed.’ He never made excuses or threw anyone under the bus,” Abhishek Nayar explained.
Abhishek Nayar also referred to the trust Rohit built through small but important gestures, including how he handled players who were out of the XI. He said even senior and young cricketers respected Rohit because his praise and criticism always came from a place of care, not ego.
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He pointed to instances like Sanju Samson speaking about being left out of the T20 World Cup final, saying Rohit still made time to speak with him before the toss and check on his mindset. That, Nayar said, made difficult phases easier for the entire squad.
