2019 champions Mumbai and runners-up Chennai will face off against each other in the Indian T20 League curtain-raiser on Saturday, September 19, and Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma has been pegged by Aussie pace-bowling legend Brett Lee to do 'big things' in the 13th edition of the tournament.
Brett is presently in Mumbai as part of the Indian T20 League broadcasting team, and during a live Q&A session on Instagram, he was asked by a fan who he felt was the 'most dangerous batsman' in the world ever.
Without hesitation, the former Punjab and Riders player said, “I’m predicting big things for Rohit Sharma this Indian T20 League.”
While Brett noted that Rohit's primary role is to be a good leader, he also admitted that it meant leading by example, “The most important thing for Rohit Sharma is firstly to score runs for Mumbai.
"He has got to be a good leader but I think being a good leader is a combination of leading from the front in terms of scoring runs and hopefully the rest of the team will take care of itself.”
Brett's compatriot and Delhi head coach Ricky Ponting too picked Rohit as the most dangerous player for this edition of the Indian T20 League.
With 4898 runs from 188 matches at an average of 31.60 and a strike-rate of 130.82, Rohit is the third-highest run-scorer in Indian T20 League history. He also holds the record for second-most sixes (194) by an Indian in the tournament.
Rohit, who was recently awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, spoke to Hindustan Times during a virtual press conference about some of his plans for the upcoming campaign.
“I think I opened the entire tournament last year and will continue to do that even in this year."
One of the hot topics around this year's Indian T20 League is the fact that it's being played in the UAE and not India, and that ranks high on Rohit's list of things to ponder over.
“I think, mentally, it is about going out there and understanding what the pitch is doing, and based on that, you need to plan your game – whether it is your batting or bowling. So we have had a good chat around the group about that.”
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Seshadri Sukumar
