Former Pakistan cricketer questions Rohit Sharma’s captaincy ahead of Asia Cup 2023
Rohit Sharma took over the Indian captaincy from Virat Kohli post the 2021 T20 World Cup.
SHARE
Aug 19, 2023 3:13 pm
Rohit Sharma (Source: Twitter)
The upcoming Asia Cup will be co-hosted in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Ahead of the tournament, Rohit Sharma’s captaincy has come under the scanner and he will be hoping that India can put up a good show in the upcoming continental tournament. Under Rohit, India lost a bilateral series 2-1 to Australia at home. When it came to World events, the Men in Blue lost to England in the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup by 10 wickets. India also faltered against Australia by 209 runs in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Shoaib Akhtar fired some stinging comments on Rohit and said that he should not have taken up Indian captaincy. After the 2021 T20 World Cup, the Mumbaikar took over India’s captaincy. There has been no change in the Men in Blue’s fortunes as they have not won a world event since 2013. Shoaib talked about the issue in detail on the show “Backstage with Boria”. Rohit has been successful with Mumbai Indians (MI) and won five Indian Premier League (IPL) titles but he has not been able to replicate the same on the international stage.
Does Rohit Sharma react well in critical situations? -Shoaib Akhtar
“There was once a guy who would take the entire team’s pressure upon himself – that was Dhoni. Only a captain can shield the entire team behind him. Rohit is a great guy, but he cripples during captaincy, he panics. These might be harsh words, but I don’t think he should have taken up the captaincy,” The former Pakistan pacer said. Rohit’s form has been inconsistent since he took up Indian captaincy.
“Even Virat Kohli isn’t as talented as him. The timing he has and the shots he can play…he is a classical batter – but was he made for captaincy? I question myself most of the time. Does he react well in most of critical situations? I question myself. He should also be questioning it”. He added. India’s Asia Cup squad has not been announced as they still wait on the fitness of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. The multilateral tournament will kick off on August 30 in Pakistan.
