'Kohli, Iyer and Shami will take headlines but genuine hero of this Indian team is Rohit Sharma' - Nasser Hussain

India marched into the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 as they beat New Zealand by 70 runs in the first semi-final on Wednesday, November 15 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. After opting to bat first, the Men in Blue posted a massive score of 397/4 in their allotted 50 overs riding on centuries from Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. In reply, New Zealand were bundled out for 327 in 48.5 overs as Mohammed Shami picked a historic 7-wicket haul.

While most of the credit for the win was given to Kohli, Iyer and Shami, former England captain Nasser Hussain feels that the genuine hero of the Indian team is their captain Rohit Sharma who’s changed the culture of the side. Hussain recalled India’s humiliating ten-wicket loss against England in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 which forced Rohit to change the way that he bats.

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“The headlines tomorrow will be about Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Shami but the genuine hero of this Indian side, the actual man that has changed the culture of this Indian side is Rohit Sharma. We’ve DK (Dinesh Karthik) with us and after that, we were all there for the semi-final at Adelaide where they played meek, timid cricket plodded along in the T20 semi-final, got below par score and England knocked them off none down and won by ten wickets,” said Hussain on Sky Sports.

Hussain further revealed how Rohit told Dinesh Karthik that the team will have to change the way they bat and he’s led by example with his fearless batting at the top even in the knockout stages.

“He said to DK, we’re gonna have to change. It’s one thing saying that, there’s another thing going out and walking the walk. So I think the real hero today was Rohit and the first time they’re being tested. Group stage as he would know is one thing, knockout game, can you do it again, can you play fearless cricket? As skipper, he went out to there and showed everyone and showed his dressing room we’re going to carry on exactly the same way,” he added.

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Rohit has a strike rate of 124.15 in the ongoing World Cup

Notably, Rohit is the fifth-highest run scorer of the tournament so far with 550 runs from ten innings at an average of 55 and a strike rate of 124.15 with one hundred and three fifties to his name. His explosive batting at the top has allowed the rest of the batting order to bat with freedom and take their time to settle in. The Indian captain will be eager to continue his brilliant form in the all-important final as well as team India look to end the ten-year-long wait for an ICC trophy on November 19 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.