India vs England: Zaheer Khan heaps praise on Rohit Sharma, says India skipper 'walks the talk'

Pace legend Zaheer Khan has heaped praise on Rohit Sharma, describing the India captain as someone who “walks the talk” and backed him to flourish both as leader and as a batter in the upcoming Test series against England. Zaheer also pointed at Rohit’s ability “to communicate well” as one of the key reasons behind his success as captain. Rohit is set for one of the biggest assignments since taking over as India captain in the 2021-22 season, with his team facing an English side that is yet to lose a series since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over as red-ball captain and coach respectively. “Everyone knows of the influence and impact that Rohit has had on the whole group,” Zaheer said on JioCinema. “He talks about communication. He gives enough confidence to every player and brings out the best in them. That has been the hallmark of his captaincy and he leads from the front as seen in the World Cup. He walks the talk. “When you have a leader walking the talk, it gives you better efficiency within the whole group. So, I think he’s a proven leader,” added Zaheer, who retired from the sport with 311 Test and 282 ODI wickets to his name. Read | India captain Rohit Sharma hits the nets ahead England Tests Ever since Rohit took on the role of an opener in Tests, he has achieved notable success, including scoring impressive centuries in challenging conditions. “You’ve seen him adapt nicely in England when it came to leaving the ball. He said that he had worked a lot on it,” Zaheer said. “You’ve seen that in Chennai when he played a match-defining knock. Winning the toss, batting first and getting the opposition completely out in the first innings and being instrumental in that, is something which gives satisfaction to any player playing at the highest level. Read | Rank turners will be a challenge for Indians batters too: Venkatapathy Raju “So, he’s had that kind of impact as well. You will see something on those line in this series (against England). It’s a five-Test series so there will be a lot on his mind, not just as a batter but also as a leader. “He has to work it out with Rahul Dravid and the selectors to see how he can rotate players. “Both teams will be looking to do that because a five-Test series brings its own challenges and you got to be staying on top of that tactically, planning about the resources who are more useful in which conditions and get the maximum impact from every individual,” Zaheer said. The series against England begins in Hyderabad on Thursday. With inputs from PTI