Former England captain Michael Vaughan has asserted that India would not have lost the first Test match in Hyderabad if Virat Kohli was the captain. Criticizing Rohit Sharma’s defensive captaincy, Vaughan expressed that India missed Kohli’s leadership in red-ball cricket. He believes that under Kohli’s captaincy, India wouldn’t have faced defeat. In a discussion on the YouTube channel ‘Club Prairie Fire,’ Vaughan praised Rohit as a great player but felt he switched off during the first Test.
“They missed Virat Kohli’s captaincy massively in Test cricket. Under Virat’s captaincy that week, India wouldn’t have lost the game. Rohit is a legend and a great player. But I felt he just switched off completely,” said Michael Vaughan.
Vaughan further criticized Rohit’s captaincy in his column for The Telegraph, describing it as “very, very average.” He pointed out that Rohit seemed reactive, lacked proactive bowling changes, and had no answers to Ollie Pope’s sweeps and reverse sweeps during the match.
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“I thought Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was very, very average. I thought he was so reactive, I don’t think he maneuvered his field or was proactive with his bowling changes. And he didn’t have any answer to Ollie Pope’s sweeps or reverse sweeps,” wrote Michael Vaughan.
Michael Vaughan Said ” Rohit Sharma as captain very very average. I don’t think he has maneuvered his field or was proactive with bowling change.And of course he didn’t even have the answer of Ollie Pope reverse sweep “#KLRahul #INDvsENG #Gill #Siraj #Iyer #Dravid #Imam… pic.twitter.com/06TzDnMTuP
— Sujeet Suman (@sujeetsuman1991) January 29, 2024
Rohit Sharma, leading the side in Kohli’s absence, faced scrutiny for his captaincy as England secured a remarkable victory in the first Test. England outclassed India with a brilliant 196-run knock by Ollie Pope and a sensational seven-wicket haul by debutant Tom Hartley on Day 4.
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It’s worth noting that Kohli opted out of the first two Tests against England due to personal reasons. The BCCI has not disclosed the details behind Kohli’s absence and has urged fans to avoid speculating about the reason. The second Test is set to be crucial for Rohit Sharma and the Indian team as they aim to level the series after the defeat in the series opener.
