'We talk about MS Dhoni being Mr Cool but..': Irfan Pathan compares Rohit Sharma with former India captain

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has drawn comparisons between Indin skipper Rohit Sharma and the legendary MS Dhoni as he hailed Hitman for being 'cool as cucumber' as a leader. Rohit, who was recently appointed as India's captain across all three formats, has had a fantastic start to his stint as the skipper of the side.

Rohit has led India to back-to-back three T20I series wins against New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka while also winning his first ODI series as full-time captain 3-0 against West Indies. The ongoing two-match Test series between India and Sri Lanka is Rohit's first as the Test captain of the side and India are leading the two-match rubber 1-0 after an emphatic win in the first Test in Mohali.

Lauding Rohit, Pathan said the current Indian skipper has undergone a massive transformation since being snubbed from the Indian team for the 2011 ODI World Cup. Rohit had made his India debut much before the 2011 World Cup but had failed to establish his credentials to make the cut into the World Cup squad.

“Every player goes through that phase in his career when he isn’t able to perform and only left with disappointment. The current team has two such players: Jadeja and Rohit. Jadeja hasn’t looked back since the 2017 Champions Trophy final… and Rohit has changed a lot since the 2011 World Cup snub. There used to be a lot of talk about his talent. But he himself would say that he was much more than just talent," Pathan told Star Sports while speaking about the rise of both Rohit and Ravindra Jadeja.

Ever since the 2011 World Cup snub, Rohit has gone on to become one of the best batters in the world when it comes to white-ball cricket. He is currently one of India's most consistent performers across formats and has also been terrific as a captain.

Pathan compared Rohit with Dhoni, who is known as captain cool for his ability to stay calm under the most pressure situations. Dhoni is the only captain with all three major ICC limited-overs trophies to his name. The former captain led India to memorable triumphs at the 2011 ODI World Cup in 2011, T20 World Cup in 2007 and the Champions Trophy in 2013.

“He worked hard on his skill-set and the best opportunity came in the 2013 Champions Trophy. He was given the role of opening the innings and that took Rohit’s career to another level. His performance was a notch above and that improved his consistency as well. We talk about Dhoni being Mr Cool but Rohit is cool as a cucumber,” Pathan added.