His record as stand-in captain has been quite impressive and Rohit Sharma today made it clear that whenever the opportunity comes along, he would be "ready" for full-time captaincy.
Under Rohit, India have won two close multi-nation tournaments -- the T20 tri-nation in Sri Lanka and now the Asia Cup 50-over tournament.
A three-time IPL winning captain of Mumbai Indians, Rohit was asked if he is ready for a long-term leadership role in future.
"Definitely. We have just won so I will surely be ready (for captaincy). Whenever the opportunity comes, I will be ready," a smiling Rohit told reporters after India' Asia Cup triumph.
There are challenges of a stand-in captain, Rohit admitted, adding that the main objective is to allow players to play freely without thinking about their places in the team.
"It's a challenge for any team when few of your senior players are rested. Obviously they will make a comeback and few of the guys have to miss out. Every team is doing that and also guys understand that.
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"It's up to them whenever they get an opportunity they make it big and make it count but for us -- myself as a captain and our coach, we have to make sure that they have the liberty to go out and play their game without feeling any pressure," said Rohit.
"I understand the dynamics of this team, how we play our cricket and how we want to go forward as a team. I think in this tournament we have ticked all the boxes," Rohit looked satisfied after accomplishing his task.
Rohit made it clear that his philosophy of leadership is to help players shed insecurities while playing for the country. He in fact assured the likes of Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik that they will be playing all games.
"When we came here, I wanted to give them the assurance that they will be playing all games. That's how you make players. If you know after two games you are going to get dropped, it's not easy for any player.
"I wanted to give everybody a fair run and play more games. That's how you understand a player's capabilities. One odd game, you can't judge a player," said Rohit
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