India’s ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma is always expressive on the ground. Rarely, one would find the skipper controlling his emotions when leading the side. Be it the anger, laugh or frustration, Rohit never shies away from putting his emotions out, even if his expressions become a meme material or a topic of talk. Speaking about that behaviour of Rohit, his teammate Mohammed Shami opened up and said when one fails to meet the captain’s expectations, he starts showing his emotions.

“The best thing about Rohit is that he gives you freedom. Agar aap uske hisaab se sahi nahi utre, to unke thode se reaction bahar aane lagte hain. Wo aapko bateyga ki aapko ye karna tha, ya ye chaiye tha. Fir bhi aap uspe khare nahi utre, toh fir jo hum screen pe jo reactions dekhte hain, jo hum bina bole samajh jaate hain na, wo aane lagta hai. (However, if you don’t meet his expectations, his reactions start to show a bit. He’ll tell you that you should have done this or needed to do that. But if you still don’t live up to it, then the reactions we see on the screen, the ones we understand without him saying anything, start to come out),” Shami said during Ceat Cricket Rating Awards.

Meanwhile, Rohit said, “I keep asking them to be themselves on the field. For that, first, I have to be myself… and that’s how I am!”

While Rohit continues to lead the Indian team in the ODI and Test formats, Shami is sidelined due to an ankle surgery. He is undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy. The pacer is expected to make a comeback to competitive cricket for his domestic side Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, and a potential international appearance later in one of the Test matches against New Zealand.

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