T20 World Cup: The Rohit Sharma playbook Suryakumar Yadav keeps in his pocket

Mumbai — When Suryakumar Yadav sat in front of reporters on the eve of India’s T20 World Cup opener, the question sounded harmless enough: how had he managed to imprint such an unapologetically aggressive DNA on the national side? The captain’s answer was swift, almost reflexive. “It’s not me who started it,” he said. “We began playing this brand of cricket under Rohit.”

In that single sentence, Suryakumar acknowledged what dressing-room insiders have long known: the template India are using to bludgeon their way through global T20 cricket was first sketched by Rohit Sharma, the man who no longer leads the side but whose philosophy still travels in the current captain’s pocket.

The roots of the revolution can be traced to a November night in Adelaide 2022. England’s openers romped to a 10-wicket semifinal win, chasing 169 with four overs to spare. Rohit, then captain, left the ground convinced that timidity, not talent, had derailed India’s campaign. Over the next 18 months he and head coach Rahul Dravid tore up the conservative manual that had served India since the MS Dhoni era. Powerplay par scores—once 45-50—were redrawn at 75. Wickets in the first six overs were re-classified as acceptable collateral rather than crisis. The recalibration began with Rohit himself: promoted to open, told to swing from ball one, and encouraged to keep swinging.

The new doctrine demanded structural sacrifice. Four specialist bowlers gave way to three, buttressed by three—or sometimes four—multi-skilled cricketers. In the 2024 World Cup cycle Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya surrounded Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav. Bumrah’s four-over stinginess—rarely more than 25 runs conceded—became the safety net that allowed batters to chase 200 with impunity. Rohit’s 41-ball 92 against Australia in St Lucia, an innings that knocked the five-time champions out of the tournament, was the emblematic knock of the era.

When Rohit, Virat Kohli and Jadeja retired from T20Is after that 2024 triumph, Suryakumar inherited more than the armband. He inherited conviction. Appointing Gautam Gambhir—another evangelist for fearless cricket—as coach, Suryakumar doubled down. Abhishek Sharma was anointed first-choice opener with a simple brief: “Keep going,” a message the skipper repeats after every IPL innings he monitors. Sanju Samson, drafted late into this World Cup, was told his previous failures were irrelevant; style and intent were non-negotiable. The result: totals of 256-4 and 253-7 against Zimbabwe and England, and a chase of 199 versus the West Indies when elimination stared India in the face.

The volatility of the approach has produced wobbles—Varun Chakravarthy’s rhythm deserted him, South Africa exposed the all-rounder-heavy balance—but Suryakumar has refused to retreat. “In sports, wins and losses keep happening,” he said after the South Africa defeat. “I have learnt from Rohit that in life, being balanced is important.”

It is that equilibrium—an attacking batting order stretching to No. 8, a trio of frontline bowlers backed by versatile hybrids, and the ever-reliable Bumrah—that forms the Rohit Sharma playbook Suryakumar still consults. The handwriting may be Gambhir’s, the marginalia now belongs to a new generation, but the title page carries the same author: Rohit Sharma. As India stand on the threshold of a second T20 world title, the manual remains unaltered, its pages dog-eared from constant use, its instructions followed to the letter.