Rohit Sharma’s Test captaincy has become a major talking point ever since India performed poorly in the ICC World Test Championship final and suffered a 209-run loss against Australia.
He has been facing severe criticism for making some unexpected decisions during the final. Rohit Sharma’s decision to bowl first on a good batting surface after winning the toss was criticised by many. His captaincy was also questioned after the team-management decided against including ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the team despite Australia being a side dominated by left-hander batsmen.
And the criticism only increased with each passing day as Australia thoroughly dominated the Rohit Sharma-led side. Questions are now being raised on Rohit’s captaincy with many suggesting that he should be removed from the Test captaincy.
Michael Clarke on Rohit Sharma’s captaincy:
As Rohit Sharma continues to face criticism over his captaincy, he has received some much-needed support from an unlikely source. Former Australia skipper Michael Clarke has urged the Indian team-management to persist with Rohit as the captain of the same.
Clarke pointed out his IPL record where he has led Mumbai Indians to five titles. Clarke also warned India over a captaincy change, suggesting that it might affect their campaign in the upcoming ICC World Cup.
“I would be keeping the faith with Rohit. I think he is a very good captain. I like his aggressive approach, he looks to be as positive as he can be. He has had a lot of success as a leader. Look at his IPL record for Mumbai (Indians),” Clarke told RevSportz.
“Just because India didn’t win the Test World Championship doesn’t mean Rohit is not the right guy to lead India. The fact that India qualified again, they are the only team to make consecutive finals, says a lot about how they have played their Test cricket over the past four years. It is also a very important time for stability with the One-Day World Cup right around the corner,” he added.
Rohit and Team India would be looking to bounce back next month when they travel to West Indies for a full-fledged series. India are scheduled to play 2 Tests, 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is against the Caribbean outfit.