Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has said that he has been disappointed with Rohit Sharma’s stint as Indian captain so far. He added that he expected more from the veteran cricketer. However, he took over as full-time captain from Virat Kohli in February last year replacing Virat Kohli. And, under him, India failed to reach the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup and lost the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final as well. While reviewing India’s performance, Gavaskar shared his views.
Gavaskar said at The Indian Express Idea Exchange: “I expected more from him (Rohit). In India it is different, but when you do well overseas that is really the test. That is where he has been a little disappointing. Even in the T20 format, with all the experience of the IPL, hundreds of matches as captain, with a mix of best IPL players not being able to get to the finals has been disappointing.”
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However, Rohit Sharma struggled with the bat recently. He had poor form in the T20 World Cup in Australia, where he smashed a 28-ball 27 in the semi-final as England beat India by 10 wickets. And, in the WTC 2023 final at The Oval, he was dismissed for 15 and 43 as well.
During a discussion on Sports Today, Sunil Gavaskar shared: “The WTC is gone, we missed out there but the next big thing is the ODI World Cup. I would have preferred the big boys to be given a complete break from Test cricket. Look at only the 50-over format and maybe T20s too as it is the abbreviated version. I would have only wanted them to focus on white-ball cricket.”
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“They have been playing non-stop cricket since October-November last year. And apart from injury breaks, they have not really got long breaks. So give them a complete break from red-ball cricket. The certainties who would be playing the 50-over World Cup. You have given [Mohammed] Shami a break so maybe the others too,” he concluded.
However, India will take on the West Indies in a two-match Test series starting July 12 in Dominica as well.
