Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Saba Karim believes that Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has the intensity and aggression to lead India in the three-match T20 series against Afghanistan. The 36-year-old will make his return to the T20 team after the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Rohit Sharma is likely to ply his trade for India in the upcoming T20 World Cup, captaining the side in the West Indies and the USA. The Indian skipper batted exceedingly well in the ODI World Cup, where he scored almost 600 runs at a strike rate of more than 125 alongside smashing 31 sixes during the tournament.
Speaking with JioCinema, Saba Karim stated that the Indian captain demonstrated his ambition to win the World Cup for India during the marquee event last year and believes he is in peak shape, as he provides stability in the team. The former wicketkeeper believes Rohit has been brought back to provide stability to the team as captain and batter.
“This is a wonderful phase for Rohit Sharma. The way he led India in the ODI World Cup goes to shows his desire to win the World Cup for India. Rohit is in prime form. His fitness also has helped him grow in confidence. That is the reason why the Indian selectors have again opted for Rohit to lead the side, to bring that kind of stability to the side as a captain and as a batter.”
With the senior Indian batters out of the squad for more than a year, it appeared like India had distanced itself from them in the game’s shortest format. However, the Indian selectors surprised everyone by including both batters in the Indian squad for the Afghanistan series.
Rohit Sharma Paved A Path For Batting In White-ball Cricket – Saba Karim
Saba Karim believes Rohit Sharma’s powerplay strategy in the ODI format has played an important role in his return to T20Is and also expects the Indian captain to make a smooth transition from ODI cricket to T20 cricket.
“That (Powerplay approach in ODIs) is one of the main reasons that we are seeing Rohit Sharma once again as a player and as a captain in T20Is. The intensity with which he batted in one-day cricket, the aggression that he showed. He paved a path for batting in white-ball cricket. He did and showed it to the rest of the team, lead from the front.”
“Rohit has a lot of experience. He has been playing T20 cricket for years. People do find it hard to switch from red-ball to white-ball cricket. But, I think Rohit, with his experience, he will be able to do that very easily,” Saba Karim added.
The West Indies and the United States will host the T20 World Cup from June 4 to June 30. Since their victory in the maiden edition, India has yet to win the ICC T20 title. In the previous four competitions, India lost two semi-finals and one final. The Men in Blue would like to end their ICC title drought next year under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.
