Rohit said Rahul’s contributions have been important for the team despite not scoring any big knocks.
“KL has been doing a lot of challenging work for the team for so many years now. I am very happy with how he managed to pull through this tournament and bat it in the pressure situation – both in the semifinals and this game as well.
“The contribution may not be 70-80, but those 30-40s are very important for the team. When you are chasing, it can get tough. But with KL being there, we know that he has got that mind where he keeps himself calm and keeps the dressing room also very calm,” he explained.
The 37-year-old also praised Shreyas Iyer for playing significant knocks from No. 4.
“He is very, very important in that middle phase for us. The partnerships with all the batters who were batting with him…That semifinal against Australia, his alliance with Virat was very important. Even against Pakistan and New Zealand, the league game that we played was important.
“Even today, when I got out, our team’s third wicket had fallen. And, at that time, we needed a partnership of 50 to 70 runs.Shreyas did that with Axar. So, when there are such performances, when you understand the conditions, and adapt to the conditions it feels good,” he said.
Rohit dedicated the Champions Trophy triumph to the country.
“To the whole country because I know that our country has been so much behind us. When you win the finals of any tournament, and especially in India, we know that wherever we play, we get good support. So, winning this trophy makes the whole team so happy that we did it for our country,” he signed off. –(PTI)
