IPL 2019 | Rohit Sharma knows the IPL inside out, says Mike Hesson

Rohit Sharma has been an impactful skipper for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League and has done extremely well in marshalling his troops since is appointment as the Mumbai Indians skipper. Kings XI Punjab coach Mike Hesson has heaped praise on Sharma’s captaincy skills and said that he is an astute captain and also asserted that it is very difficult to get the better of MS Dhoni as a captain, but Rohit is outstanding. 

“I think Rohit Sharma knows the IPL inside out and I think he knows and understands his players really well. I think he is able to know when to attack and when to defend. He is certainly a captain that certainly has a huge amount of success in this tournament and you can see why. Kane Williamson, who I know well and worked well with over a long period of time, I think he looks like he has got his team humming as well in terms of understanding their roles.

"From an Indian perspective, Rohit Sharma, from an IPL perspective is very very good. It's hard to go past MS Dhoni. He is the obvious (choice), but I think Rohit Sharma is very good,” Hesson said in an interview with Times of India. 

Mumbai Indians are currently placed at the second spot on the points table and in contention for making it to the playoffs. Rohit’s willow may not have spilled fire this season but captaincy has been upto the mark. MI play their next game against Chennai Super Kings in their backyard on April 25.

On speaking about the most satisfying win in the IPL so far, which came against Mumbai Indians last week, Hesson said, “I think the home game against Mumbai was probably our most complete performance. We were very clinical in terms of how we operated in that game. I also think the Delhi game (Punjab beat Delhi by 14 runs) where we sort of came from nowhere and showed those fighting characteristics was so important for our group to believe that you are never out of it. You won't always dominate games, so it's knowing that you got to fight and you got to scrap and you got to hope that you stay in the game long enough and things work out well for you in the end.

Gayle’s dwindling forms a few months ago raised questions on his World Cup selection, but the Carribean giant has weaved magic in recent times and has been unstoppable in the IPL so far. Hesson praised Gayle’s experience and spoke about the importance of the southpaw and KL Rahul at the top. 

“Chris is someone who takes a lot of pride in his performance. He is someone who prepares well behind the scenes and knows his game inside out so he is certainly a huge asset for us. A year ago or maybe six months ago there were certainly question marks around whether Chris could go again and that series against England certainly shows that he has still got plenty of fire in the belly and certainly plenty of skill to offer. He has added immensely to us, obviously, the partnership at the top with KL Rahul is critical to us. Just their experience in terms of understanding conditions. Chris is a big contributor in our group on and off the park. The guys love playing with him and we are certainly expecting a big finish from him."