Rohit Sharma Defends Himself After Picking Avesh Khan Over Bhuvneshwar Kumar To Bowl Final Over Against West Indies
Aug 2, 2022 at 10:16 AM
Rohit Sharma has defended his decision of preferring Avesh Khan over Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the final over against West Indies in the second T20I. India lost the match by 5 wickets as West Indies drew level in the five-match series after losing the series-opener by 68 runs.
Defending a modest total of 138, India did well to drag the match to the last over and had the upper hand at that stage. India needed to defend 10 runs in the final over. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s two overs still left, it was expected that Rohit would hand the ball to the experienced bowler who is regarded as one of the best death bowlers in the world.
Bhuvneshwar had conceded only 12 runs in the two overs that he had bowled in the game. Rohit, however, surprisingly decided to hand the ball to young Avesh Khan and the move did not pay off. The youngster just could not withstand the pressure and ended up conceding the 10 runs in his first two deliveries. He started by bowling a no-ball before conceding a six and a four.
Rohit Sharma defends his decision:
After the game, Rohit Sharma defended his decision of not giving the ball to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The India skipper explained why he went with Avesh instead of his more experienced teammate. Rohit also insisted that the team would continue to back the youngsters before praising the bowlers for dragging the match to the last over.
“We know what Bhuvi does for us; he has been doing it for years. Unless you give chances to guys like Avesh and Arshdeep you’ll never know,” Rohit Sharma said.
“But it is just one game. They have the skills and the talent and it is all about backing them. I am really proud of the bowlers and the team. Targets such as these can get over in 13-14 overs but we dragged it to the last over. I thought the guys executed the plans and really happy with the way the guys bowled,” he added.
