He scored his maiden Test hundred - 177 against West Indies - at the Eden Gardens. His highest ODI score, of 264* came at the same venue. To add to that, he has lifted two IPL trophies on the ground – in 2013 and 2015.

Rohit Sharma has created a bond with the Eden Gardens so strong, he actually feels like a different player when he steps on its turf. Rohit says he doesn’t know what it is about the Eden that has made it so special for him. And he doesn’t want to know.

He just wants the love affair to last a lifetime.It definitely got a lot stronger on Sunday as Rohit scored a 26-ball 50 in the Pepsi IPL 2015 grand finale to take Mumbai Indians to a 41-run win over the Chennai Super Kings.The Mumbai Indians captain spoke about the special bond and his growth as a leader.

Don’t you feel like wrapping this ground up and carrying it in your pocket?Oh, I do! I want to pack it and take it home and then carry it with me wherever in the world I go. This ground has now become extremely special for me; I have achieved so much here and it is very close to my heart. I don’t know why this ground is so special for me and I don’t even want to know as long as I keep coming here and performing the way I have so far and keep winning trophies.

You walked in to bat at 1 for 1 but you were in your elements from the word go. Was it the confidence that playing here gives you?Yes, psychologically it does play on your mind. You have all the confidence with you when you go in to bat.

Also, as a captain I always wanted to lead from the front and direct the team in the way I wanted them to go. For that I have to make sure whatever I do, I set the right example for the rest. I didn’t try anything extra; just walked in with a lot of confidence and did my thing.

How much have you grown as a leader?Because I had won this tournament before (in 2013), I was much more confident this time. But there are many things that go into a winning team. One thing that I have learned this season is that you have to be consistent with your plans and not lose patience if you are not doing well as a team.

Even when you lose a few games, you should not chop and change things. It makes life difficult for the players and the team on the whole.Talk about your captain-coach relationship with Ricky Ponting.

He is always confident, no matter what. When we lost those four games early on, that’s when Ricky and I really got together and tried to put the team together. We ensured that we did everything to hold the team together and not let it drift apart.

We tried to create an atmosphere in the team where guys can just go and play without any pressure. We wanted the guys to follow their instincts and encouraged them to do what they felt was the right thing to do at that time.Have you picked up anything from him from the leadership perspective?He has been such a successful captain for Australia and I have had a lot of conversations on leadership with him.

His advice has helped me a lot and I have picked up a lot. But the best thing about him is that he gave me complete freedom to do what I was comfortable with as the captain of the team. The strategies we formed, the team selection – he gave me a free hand.

And that really helped me grow..

Source: http://www.iplt20.com/news/2015/features/6958/rohit-has-grown-as-a-leader-tendulkar