Sack Rohit Sharma, save Indian cricket!
From start to finish, Rohit was a disaster as captain of the Indian Test cricket team.
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Rohit Sharma (Image via Twitter)
Damn, what a lousy captain this guy Rohit Sharma! On Sunday, Team India, under the uninspiring leadership of the Mumbaikar, lost the ICC Test championship final to the mighty Aussies by a whopping 209 runs.
This hurts, this makes you cringe, and this makes you feel yuck that India has such a lousy captain who deserves the boot. Why? He has been the laziest captain. His body language is poor, he has that hangdog expression and makes fans weep. It is fine for Rohit to fail as the Mumbai Indians captain in the Indian Premier League. No, but not in the ICC Test final, where he flopped, bereft of any idea of how to lead.
From start to finish, Rohit was a disaster as captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He deserves the boot. Sample this, the guy wins the toss at The Oval, misreads a green track and thinks he cannot trust his own heavyweight batting line-up. Worse, Rohit and that pouting coach Rahul Dravid connive and conspire against R. Ashwin and drop him. For the record, through the last ICC Test cycle, Ashwin has been one of the best bowlers.
Given the nature of the wicket, which hardly looked like one which will aid fast bowlers, Rohit made a big error by ignoring Ashwin. Agreed, Ravindra Jadeja shone with the bat and ball, but if Ashwin had been in the playing 11, he could have exploited the conditions as the Aussies have left-handed batters in plenty.
The casualness of Rohit Sharma won’t win us trophies
It’s not just about losing this one huge Test finals. Rohit has been a captain who as successor to Virat Kohli was never hands-on. His record sucks as a batter as well and he needs to quit if he has any self-respect. The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has already divested him of T20 captaincy. This man does not deserve to lead India in the ICC World Cup this October/November.
Back to The Oval, Rohit lacked ideas. He flopped in the first innings and the 40-odd runs in the second innings were poor, like drawing one mug of water out of a well when extremely thirsty. Even during the Border Gavaskar Trophy series, Rohit was in a casual mode. He missed one match and then came back. The amount of breaks and leaves he takes has been casual. It conveys a sense of casualness.
On Sunday, fans were trolling Virat Kohli for getting out after being well-set. But that is not right. Kohli tried hard and one man who has shown great appetite and zeal to fight has been Ajinkya Rahane. That Rahane was out in the wilderness for over a year was sad. Whoever connived against Rahane, whether the BCCI or the Indian captain and Dravid, need to be hauled over coals.
Hand Ajinkya Rahane the baton in Tests
Rahane had reinvented himself in the IPL and flourished for Chennai Super Kings. In the Oval Test, Rahane played with application and showed he was a trustworthy bat. Ideally, for a batter like Rahane and a stand-in leader on many occasions in the past, he has got a raw deal. Rahane led Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy last season as well.
Ideally, if someone should have succeeded Virat Kohli as Test captain, it should have been Rahane. At that time, the BCCI, under President Sourav Ganguly, had an agenda — get rid of Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri. If the BCCI sacked the duo for not delivering an ICC trophy, by the same yardstick, Rohit Sharma should be sacked. Rahul Dravid must also be censured.
The Indian Test team needs an overhaul for sure. How soon the BCCI will wake up and smell the coffee remains to be seen. Rohit’s fitness is susceptible and he got lampooned by former greats Sunny Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri just a few days back. Usually, Bombay guys, now Mumbai, always back their state players. The truth is Rohit has been appalling and deserves to go as Indian Test captain.
There can be no excuse that the Indian side was minus Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. The truth is, Rahane, must ascend the throne in red ball cricket. He still has plenty of cricket left in him. If the BCCI does that, the next Test captain and vice-captain can be groomed in the next two years. Hopefully, Pant and Bumrah will be back in full business by 2024.
The BCCI must also seriously re-think on having Rohit as captain for the ODIs and the ICC World Cup(ODIs). Hardik Pandya has shown flair and feels in white-ball cricket. The BCCI will do well to consider Pandya as the ODI captain as well. Rohit does not deserve to hold any position of leadership in Indian cricket. To be sure, his own form makes his own selection vulnerable.
Sack Rohit, save Indian cricket.
In case you missed!
- Evidence: Shubman Gill falls prey to ‘stupid’ TV Umpire’s wrong decision in WTC Final
- “Australia clearly played with the ball”- Australia accused of ‘tampering with ball’ to dismiss Virat Kohli in WTC Final
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