Cheteshwar Pujara, the former India batter, expressed his desire for Rohit Sharma to regain his form quickly. He believes Sharma’s batting performance impacts his captaincy.
Rohit, and largely the rest of the Indian cricket team, have struggled for runs in the last five Test matches. The skipper has mustered only 100 runs in the last four matches, missing the opener of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth.
IND vs AUS: Rohit Sharma has had a terrible time with the bat in whites
During this period, India were blanked 0-3 by New Zealand at home and have lost four in a row under Rohit’s leadership.
“First of all, I would like Rohit Sharma to come back to form as soon as possible. Because when he scores runs, it will affect his captaincy as well. When a captain is out of form, it affects his captaincy as well. So, I think when scores runs, it will affect his captaincy,” said former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara on Star Sports.
Pujara emphasised the importance of a good start for Sharma, suggesting he should focus on accumulating the first 20 to 30 runs steadily. He believes Sharma can then build on this foundation and convert it into a substantial score.
“Rohit Sharma is an experienced player. He knows how to score runs when batting. He is going through some bad form. But even there, a start is very important for him. He should focus on getting his first 20 or 30 runs steadily. After that, he can capitalise on the start and convert it into a big score. So, hopefully, when he comes in the first half or quarter of an hour, he should focus on getting a start,” added the 36-year-old.
Rohit Sharma’s struggle continues
Harbhajan Singh, the former India spinner, echoed Pujara’s sentiments. He believes a captain’s run-scoring contributes to improved decision-making.
“As a captain, I would like Rohit Sharma to make runs. When he scores runs, he will think better and do better things. No matter how big a player is, he is always worried about his performance. There is no doubt that when a player scores runs, he makes a better decision. So, let’s hope that Rohit Sharma scores some runs so that his captaincy gets better,” said the former India spinner.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy stands at 1-1 after Australia won the second Test, a pink-ball affair, by 10-wickets. India had won the opening Test by 295 runs.
