Former India cricketer Atul Wassan has backed the skipper Rohit Sharma to return to form in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Wassan feels that the presence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is important for the team but also added that both of them need to score runs.
Rohit recently endured a poor Test match in Adelaide where he registered scores of 3 and 6 across both the innings of the match. He batted out of his batting position to ensure the opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul stayed intact.
While Rohit looked woefully out of touch, Virat Kohli too struggled despite a fine hundred in Perth during the first Test. Kohli scored 7 and 11 across the two innings and was dismissed after nicking off behind in both the innings.
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Atul Wassan speaks about the importance of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
While speaking to ANI after India’s defeat to Australia in Adelaide, Atul Wassan claimed that the presence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma gives the Indian team an identity. However, he was adamant about the fact that both these players needed to perform.
“The value of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is worth in Gold. Their presence gives the team the identity. But they both need to perform. The expectations become high and the potency of a player becomes low as the years pass on,” Wassan said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator further mentioned that Rohit Sharma should have opened instead of batting at No. 6 in Adelaide. He termed it as a “tactical mistake”.
“I believe Rohit Sharma did a mistake that he did not open (in Adelaide) as his mentality is not that of a middle-order batsman. KL Rahul has that capacity as he has batted at every position. So that was a tactical mistake,” Wassan reckoned.
#WATCH | Dubai: On the form of Indian cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, Former cricketer Atul Wassan says, “…The value of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is Weight in Gold…But they both need to perform…I believe Indian Captain Rohit Sharma… pic.twitter.com/SMhoiPJBrT
— ANI (@ANI) December 8, 2024
Atul Wassan lauds Jasprit Bumrah
While speaking on Jasprit Bumrah, Atul Wassan called him a genius and claimed that the fast bowler won India the first Test on his own. He also labeled Rohit Sharma as a good captain but wants him to open the batting.
He backed Rohit to come out on top in the upcoming matches and feels that the bouncy pitches in Australia will suit his style of batting.
“(Jasprit) Bumrah is a genius. He won us the match (in Perth) with his performance. The rest of the team got on the same plate. Then, Rohit came and batted out of his batting spot. That won’t work and he must open the innings. Rohit Sharma is a very good captain,” Wassan noted.
“Looking at Rohit Sharma’s game, he is more likely to come out successful in Australia. He made the mistakes in New Zealand series but I think he should come back and play to his own potential and capacity and we’ll be alright,” he concluded.
Rohit Sharma’s poor Test run
Rohit Sharma endured a poor run of form in India’s home Test season before the ongoing series against Australia. He registered a number of low scores against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
With three Tests remaining in the series, the Indian captain will be under huge pressure to perform now. The next Test will be played in Brisbane from December 14.