IND vs AUS: Ravi Shastri Wants Rohit Sharma To Learn From Australian Captain Pat Cummins
Indian Test captain Rohit Sharma has been receiving criticism for his form off-lately. The Indian skipper returned to the playing XI in Adelaide after missing the Perth Test because of the birth of his second child.
Rohit Failed To Perform In Both The Innings Of 2nd Test Match
In the second Test match, Rohit decided to bat in the middle as he allowed KL Rahul to continue at the opening position along with Yashasvi Jaiswal after the duo delivered a great performance in the second innings of the 1st Test match of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
However, Rohit Sharma’s decision to move to the middle-order didn’t turn to be fruitful for the Men in Blue as the Indian captain failed badly. He was seen struggling to score runs while facing the Australian pacers. After disappointing the fans with his short knock of just 3 runs, Rohit Sharma failed to make a comeback in the second innings and was dismissed after scoring just runs.
Rohit Sharma’s failure with the bat in both the innings put the Indian side on the back-seat as the team got bundled out for low scores in both the innings. The Indian cricket team eventually lost the game by 10 wickets at the hands of the Australian cricket team.
Meanwhile, former Indian cricket Team’s head coach Ravi Shastri wants Rohit to take back his opening position from KL Rahul ahead of the upcoming 3rd Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
Ravi Shastri highlighted that Rohit’s poor form has directly impacted his captaincy and with him moving back to his original position, i.e, the opening position would allow him to be more aggressive with the bat and will help the team to perform better.
Ravi Shastri Wants Rohit Sharma To Learn From Australian Captain Pat Cummins
Speaking to the broadcasters after the 2nd Test match, Ravi Shastri stressed that Rohit looked low-spirited or subdued during the game. He feels that as a captain Rohit needs to be more involved with the team. Ravi Shastri said:
“That’s the reason I want him at the top. That’s where he can be aggressive and expressive. Just thought he was a little too subdued, just seeing his body language. The fact that he didn’t make runs, I don’t think there was enough on the field there. I just wanted to see him more involved, and a little more animated.
“You still have to believe that you can bounce back in this series. You have seen with these two teams, that the counter-punch is almost immediate. It’s happened over the last 10 years. You lose one, you win the next, but you have to have the belief,” Shastri said.
“It would mean Rahul would go back to the middle order. But that’s what he was going to do if Rohit Sharma had started from the first Test itself,”
Furthermore, Ravi Shastri advised Rohit Sharma to take some lessons from the Australian skipper Pat Cummins about how to bounce back from defeat and ensure that the Indian cricket team is at its very best in the upcoming Brisbane Test match. He said:
“I like the choice of words by Pat Cummins in Perth. He said we weren’t good enough, but we weren’t as bad as the scoreboard showed. The reason I say good choice of words is because it wasn’t about what people said or what was written about, it was about what the scoreboard showed. I think India can take a leaf out of that.”