Indian all-format skipper Rohit Sharma’s captaincy come under the scanner following India’s thrashing defeat against Australia in the World Test Championship final in Kennington Oval, with many fans and experts baffled by the Indian team’s strategies in the finals leaving out World No.1 spinner Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing 11.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma could not bring the best out of their players since he took up the mantle from ace batter Virat Kohli, as he failed to win a major trophy captaining the side in Asia Cup 2022, T20 World Cup 2022, and WTC Final 2023.
Many strategic and tactical calls by Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid were questioned following their defeat against Australia and here are five instances where Rohit Sharma did not Walk the Talk of the Captain.
1. Suryakumar Yadav’s Role In ODI Cricket
Indian 360-degree batter Suryakumar Yadav replaced the injured Shreyas Iyer in the last ODI series against Australia, with the important ODI World Cup scheduled later this year in India. There were many talks around, his performance in the ODI format as he failed to capitalize on the limited opportunity.
Rohit Sharma was very vocal about Suryakumar Yadav’s role in the team, as he stated that the team was looking for him as a specialist batter to take on the spinner in middle overs, but to his poor form in the first two games, the Indian skipper demoted Surya to the No.7 spot, where he was once again dismissed for a third consecutive golden duck.
Many experts criticized Rohit Sharma’s decision to send Suryakumar Yadav lower down the order which would have affected the confidence of the Mumbai Indians batter.
2. Playing An Aggressive Brand Of Cricket In T20’s
Rohit Sharma said that he wanted his team to play attacking cricket during the lead-up to this year’s T20 World Cup despite occasional losses due to the aggressive brand of playing and said would try to continue to provide fringe players with the chance to show their wares during the lead-up to the T20 World Cup in Australia during the West Indies tour in 2022.
But in contrast, India played a more defensive brand of cricket in the 2022 T20 World Cup, as they had a poor start in most of the games with KL Rahul and the Indian skipper playing a more conservative brand of cricket including playing maiden overs, as India had a poor start in Powerplay, where India eventually bowed out of the tournament in the semifinals against England.
3. Rishabh Pant Over Dinesh Karthik In The Semifinals Of World Cup
Dinesh Karthik played the first 4 of the 5 Super 12 matches before Sharma introduced Rishabh Pant against Zimbabwe. Both have not played any extraordinary innings so far. Earlier the Indian skipper said that Dinesh Karthik will be the finisher for the Indian team, as they backed him throughout the bilateral series before giving an opportunity to the youngster in the crunch game.
Indian team always had confusion over the wicket-keeper leading up to the T20 World Cup 2022, as the team played Indian veteran against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022 and again brought back Rishabh Pant from the remaining games before the team lost out on the super 4 stages in 2022.
4. Team Combinations Going Into High Octane Tournament
With Jasprit Bumrah ruled of the 2022 T20 World Cup, India brought in experienced Mohammed Shami into the team and brought him straight away into the playing 11 as the Indian team did not trust to go with Harshal Patel in Australia for the World Cup.
Indian Primary Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was also not trusted in Australian conditions having played him in the bilateral series prior to the start of the tournament, as they went in with Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel in the team leaving out Chahal, as the finalist England and Pakistan had a leg-spinner in their team, as India failed to read the conditions in Australia.
5. Relying More On Behind Scenes Rather Than Going By Instincts
Rohit Sharma was one of the white-ball skippers in the country, as he led Mumbai Indians to five successful titles in the Indian Premier League the Indian opener has also led the Men in Blue to the 2018 Asia Cup and Nidahas Trophy title, but could not make a real impact for India leading side from 2021.
The Indian skipper works more on the data and background works, as it directs his team selection going into massive tournaments. Recently, dropping prominent spinner Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing 11 citing the conditions in England and leaving out Chahal from playing 11 of the 2022 T20 World Cup and a few of their selection have also come under scanner as they failed to develop new crops of players relying more on the Indian veterans.
