Rohit Sharma has completed a decade playing for Mumbai Indians. In these ten years, he has not only gone on to become the highest run-scorer for the franchise but has also accomplished himself as an able leader. 

The 33-year-old was ascended to the captaincy role in 2013 after Ricky Ponting decided to step down midway in the tournament. Seven years later, Rohit as a captain has won more IPL titles than anyone else. 

As Hitman goes on to complete ten illustrious years in the MI Blue and Gold, his team members and coaching staff paid tribute to him on MITV. From being a great thinker on the field to being quite calm during pressure situations, here’s what everyone had to say about the skipper. 

Rohit is very intense and hardcore when it comes to thinking about the game 

Zaheer Khan: “Every time I look at Rohit Sharma, he’s a thinking cricketer. You have this very relaxed, cool-looking guy. His mannerisms when he bats, he’s got that elegance which you can call lazy elegance. But he’s very intense and hardcore when it comes to thinking about the game. He channelizes his energy very well. He’s very good at controlling the emotions of the pressure situations. He likes to take that pressure on himself.” 

He is quite calm in situations and that is very important in T20s 

Mahela Jayawardene: “Ro is a very instinctive leader. He reacts to situations out there in the middle. If you see in most of the games, certain decisions that he makes out there in the middle, it's quite relevant to that situation and he’s not afraid to do that. He’s quite calm in situations and that is very important in a T20 format. And him being in MI for 10 years, he just understands the role that he has to play within the group.” 

He knows how to back the youngsters 

Ishan Kishan: “He’s the only captain who has won four trophies. I think he’s very fun loving and the best part is he knows how to back the youngsters. He doesn’t give too much pressure to the youngsters that ‘you have to go in there, you have to keep performing’. He’s just that if you want to hit the ball, you just go for it.” 

He’s very cool, calm and composed when put under pressure 

Suryakumar Yadav: “He’s always open to take all the suggestions on the ground. I’ve seen him a lot of times when there is a crunch situation or when he’s put under pressure when we’re fielding. At that time, he’s very cool, calm and composed, taking any tough decisions he has to make. That’s a very good quality of Rohit.” 

Rohit has always given me the freedom to express myself 

Jasprit Bumrah: “Rohit has always given me freedom. He has always told me to express yourself. Be whatever you want, be it any situation, take ownership of your bowling. So that gives me a lot of confidence and responsibility for whatever I’m doing. I think that’s a big thing for a captain because then he gives the bowlers so much confidence. That he trusts you so much and he trusts the decisions that you’ll take. So that’s a very positive sign and that’s a great thing to go forward as well.”