Suryakumar Yadav has spoken up in defence of Rohit Sharma amid the criticism the latter continues to cop in the wake of India's historic 0-3 whitewash at home by New Zealand. A number of unwanted firsts were set, the biggest of which were that this was the first time since 2012 that India lost a series at home, ending a record run of 18 consecutive wins, and that it was the first time that India were being whitewashed at home in a three-match Test series.

Rohit has been criticised for his approach as a batter and some of his tactics and he has also been slammed for how he defended Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja's performances after the second test.

India's T20I skipper Suryakumar, who has played a majority of his international career under Rohit's captaincy, said that he has never seen the 37-year-old's character change based on results. "In sports, wins and losses keep happening. Everybody works hard, everybody works hard to win. Sometimes, it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I have learnt this from him (Rohit) only - in life, being balanced is important. I have never seen his character change, whether good or bad times. I have seen him grow as a lot as a player and as a leader," Suryakumar told reporters ahead of India's first T20I against South Africa in Durban.

"A leader wants to define how the team wants to play the format. A captain always wants to win, but a leader defines a style," the 34-year-old went on to add," he further said.

First time India face South Africa since the T20 World Cup final

This is the first time India will be facing South Africa in T20Is since the dramatic T20 World Cup final. India won that match despite South Africa needing just 30 runs to win in the last five overs at one point. Since then, India have gone on a 10-match winning streak, all of which have come under Suryakumar.

He said that he tries to get players to feel that the dressing room is their comfort zone. "As a leader, my batting style is completely different. I can’t be as aggressive as a captain. But, yeah, you have to understand what’s happening around you, I have to understand what my players are thinking. Giving them a comfort zone is very important. Everybody has their skills. They also want to come out and express themselves," the Suryakumar Yadav explained.

"Off the field, I try and spend a lot of time with them. I try and assess their strengths and see when they can come of use for the team in pressure and crunch situations. That’s how I am on the field. This format is such that you keep playing and keep learning. It’s so fast. By the time, you blink, this game is over. So freedom and clarity of thought are very important," he said.

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