Asia Cup 2023

‘He has given a brisk start but has not scored big runs’- Wasim Jaffer on Indian skipper Rohit Sharma

India had an ideal start to their Asia Cup 2022 campaign as they defeated eternal rivals Pakistan by five wickets on Sunday (August 28). The win at Dubai International Stadium also helped India take revenge for its defeat in last year’s T20 World Cup.  The Indian pacers put on a clinical show with the ball and restricted the Men in Green to just 147 runs and then Hardik Pandya led the show with his brilliant knock of 33 runs to take his team home. After the match, Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer shared his thoughts on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s form.

Rohit was not looking in good touch as he started India’s chase of 148. The Indian skipper was almost dismissed in the first over itself but DRS saved him. He was not able to get going and Mohammad Nawaz ended his struggle in the 8th over.  The Indian opener could only manage 12 runs off 18 deliveries.

Kohli, who was making a comeback to cricket, also had a rather scratchy start. He had few escapes early in the innings but gradually was finding his range. Just when he was looking set for a big score, he got out for a score of 35, and that too just after Rohit’s wicket. India was in a spot of bother at 53/3.

Wasim Jaffer, while speaking on the “Run Ki Runneeti” show on CricTracker, stated that the Indian skipper has not scored a big knock off-late and how it is crucial for him and Kohli to score big runs if the Men in Blue are looking to win big tournaments.

“The recent knocks that Rohit Sharma has played after the IPL he has been batting with the same team in the Indian team. He has resorted to that same aggressive approach. So if you bat like that there are very few chances of the batter scoring 70-80 runs. He has given a brisk start but has not scored big runs. Yes, he has scored 30-40 runs and it is not like he has not scored at all”, said Wasim Jaffer

“Today it was unlikely since he did not get much strike in the Powerplay as Virat Kohli played the maximum number of balls. He was batting on five runs in the Powerplay without hitting any boundary and it is very unlikely. So, it is not that people are not focussing on Rohit Sharma because even he is a big player and is kept in the same league as Virat Kohli and if India are to win big tournaments then these two players need to score big runs”, he added.

“Like I said even Virat Kohli has come back after a break, even KL Rahul is coming back from a long break. Unfortunately, he was dismissed off the very first (second) ball. So if you look at India’s top three then you have two players in them who have not played much cricket. But, it is a good thing that India won their first match,” Jaffer further added.