India skipper Rohit Sharma has insisted that a captain can be only as good as his team and that his impressive leadership record in white-ball cricket is due to the quality of the sides he has led.
Rohit led India to their seventh Asia Cup title as the Men in Blue overcame a stern challenge from a spirited Bangladesh side in Friday's nail-biting final in Dubai.
With the continental title win, Rohit has managed to keep his unbeaten record in major tournament finals as captain intact.
The winner of three Indian Premier League titles as Mumbai Indians' skipper, he had led the Indian team to a T20 tri-series — Nidahas Trophy triumph earlier this year in Sri Lanka.
The flamboyant opening batsman is being lauded for the way he has led the national team whenever the opportunity has come his way. Rohit's numbers as limited-overs captain certainly tells the story — a win percentage of 87.50 in ODIs (7 wins in 8 matches) and 88.88 in T20Is (8 wins in 9 matches).
"If you have a team like that, the captain will always look good. I try and do my job but if you don't have the support of the rest of the 10 players out on the field, it's never easy. Credit goes to all the boys who put in the effort and soaked in the pressure whenever it was required.," Rohit said after the big win on Friday.
He added: "We played some good cricket throughout the tournament and this [Asia Cup title] is the reward of all the hard work throughout the tournament. We were slacking at times but we have dominated most part of the tournament. This is the reward for it."
Credit to Bangladesh for the way they played: Rohit
Even as his reputation as a calming influence on the team is growing, Rohit's captaincy skills was on display in Friday's high-pressure final.
He had no hesitation to put Bangladesh into bat, considering India's chasing record in the continental tournament.
However, the Men in Green put India under a lot of pressure by stitching a record stand of 120 runs for the opening wicket.
India though pulled things back after part-time spinner Kedar Jadhav broke the partnership between centurion Liton Das and Mehedi Hasan Miraz in the 21st over.
Bangladesh managed only 102 runs from then on as they were bowled out for 22 in 48.3 overs. Kuldeep Yadav picked up three wickets and pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah bowled well at the death after leaking runs with the new ball.
"Game like these can happen. I have been part of games like this before. It's the final, to handle the pressure was a great effort from the team. Crossing the finishing line, I think, was a great effort," Rohit said.
"You have to give some credit to them [Bangladesh] as well. They batted brilliantly. They put us under pressure in the first 10 overs. But we knew once the ball gets older, we can get back into the game with our quality spinners. That's what exactly happened. They never allowed the Bangladesh batsmen to get off the hook.
"It was important to keep it tight, keep the pressure building — that's something we have done throughout the tournament and not just in this match."
Unlike the previous matches, India's top order didn't dominate the opposition attack as Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu were dismissed cheaply.
Rohit made a well-paced 48 after which handy contributions from the middle and lower-middle order helped India cross the finish line in the final ball of the thrilling encounter.
The stand-in skipper, who was dropped for the Test series in England, has certainly put behind the disappointing memories and shone in his favourite format. With 317 runs, Rohit finished second on the top-scorers' list, 25 runs behind opening partner Dhawan, who won the Man of the Series.
