Our captain and now Team India’s white ball skipper Rohit “Hitman” Sharma has a record par excellence as a leader. He got into an in-depth conversation with renowned sports journalist Mr. Boria Majumdar who he affectionately calls “Dada” on the nuances of his leadership and what else goes on behind the scenes that enables him to be as successful as he is.

On the burning desire to win a World Cup:
 " When you play the sport you want to achieve the best thing and the best thing, I feel is to win Championships. You'll score many runs and many 100’s but winning Championships stays with you because that you achieve as a team. At the end of the day, we are playing a team sport and I want to achieve this team goal which is to win Championships. We have the players and the support staff in order to get it. It obviously comes with a lot of pressure and expectations. I’d like to ease that by giving my players security and freedom to go and express themselves."

On his captaincy philosophy:
“ I feel captain needs to take a backseat in the team for the simple reason that he needs to allow his players to go out there and do their jobs. Also, he needs to take the backseat as from there he can put his arm around player's shoulders and guide them. A captain looks good when the team performs well and vice-versa. I believe my role is more off the field than on it. The preparation is done all prior to the game. Once you’re on the field it’s all about just those 3 hours and the players’ execution. Preparation, comfort, freedom, planning strategies, it all happens before the game. Not much changes once the game begins."

On his Test career:
“ I am as hungry as ever. I love the format and I want to do well and be successful. We are challenged every minute by the opposition so we know it's not always going to be successful but, I'm prepared to take failure in my stride and move forward. I know the process that I have put in place and I will follow that. Till the time I play for India this hunger will stay and it's not going anywhere."

On Ritika’s role in his success:
" Without her, all this that I am doing was never going to be possible. Because, you have certain responsibilities, you know. And I have a young daughter now. She is completely focused on making sure that she gets the best of everything. And she is playing a big part in making sure that I don’t have to worry about what’s happening with her. Because she is doing this so well, I can focus at all times on what I’m doing."

On MI’s Management:

" What I have done at Mumbai is brilliant because of the players I have had. Honestly speaking, I have very little role to play there. The team that I had was fantastic. I want to give credit to, firstly, the management for creating such solid gun players and then creating that atmosphere for players to go and perform.”

The Hitman never ceases to amaze us. Let’s hope the dawn of a new era leads us to the glory both our captain and we crave equally.