One of the reasons for India to be blown away before New Zealand in the three-match Test series at home was the poor performance of their captain, Rohit Sharma, with both bat and the captaincy hat. Throughout the series, the home side looked quite defensive in their tactics against the Kiwi batters, which later came back to haunt them badly.
Rohit Sharma finished the series with just 91 runs in six innings at an average of 15.16 thanks to the one solitary half-century in the second innings of the opening Test at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. This extends his tally to 588 runs in 21 innings in this home season at an average of below 30 and a strike rate of 67.43, shouldering on two half-centuries and two centuries.
His poor record against New Zealand was exposed badly, where he gathered 515 runs in 17 Test innings at an average of 36.79 and a strike rate of 55.50 with the help of five half-centuries at a best score of 59. Going to Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 and also as a captain has been a huge headache to the selectors.
Rohit Sharma won’t be the captain if he misses the first Test? Sunil Gavaskar explains
The captain is expected to miss the opening game of the trip at the Optus Stadium in Perth, which starts on November 22. Even though the news is yet to be confirmed, the likelihood is for the veteran to be absent for one of the first couple of games.
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The former Indian captain, Sunil Gavaskar, feels that it won’t be comfortable for the team if their team loses the series at home by such a huge margin and their captain remains unavailable for the opening game of the series.
“See, the captain should play the opening Test unless he gets injured. If your captain isn’t available for the battle from the first Test, then the pressure on his deputy will be huge. That replaced captain won’t find it easy to shoulder the responsibilities. I am also reading that he (Rohit Sharma) may not play one of the first or the second Test.” The 75-year-old expressed during an interaction on ‘Sports Tak.’
Rohit Sharma has been part of 22 Test innings against Australia, where he has smacked 708 runs at an average of little under 34 with a strike rate of over 50 with the help of three half-centuries and one century. However, his record of 408 runs in 14 innings down under at an average of 31.38 isn’t a healthy one.
Gavaskar claimed that if the captain is missing the first of the five Tests of the BGT 2024-25, then the vice-captain should be taking responsibility for the team for the whole series. According to him, the captain has joined the squad at any point in time, in the middle order of the series but as a player.
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“If so, then I think the selection committee of India cricket should say to the captain that if you are missing more than 50% of the series because of a break for personal reasons, then you can join the team at any stage, but the vice-captain will be the leader of the pack for the entire series. There should be clarity. When you have lost 0-3 at home, the leader should be there and carry the responsibility.” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.
The opening game of the BGT 2024-25 will begin on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth, and to confirm their qualification in the WTC 2023-25, the pressure will be huge on the Rohit Sharma-led side.
