India captain Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was questioned hard by former India captains Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri after he let Australia conjure a huge score in the MCG Test. The ongoing BGT 2024-25 4th Test sees Australia in full control after the end of day 2.
Australia had resumed at 311/6 on day 2 and it was expected that India would bowl them out under 400. But thanks to a 112-run partnership between Steve Smith and captain Pat Cummins, Australia managed to post 474 runs in the first innings.
Steve Smith made 140 runs, while Cummins fell for 49 runs as India’s bowlers struggled to take wickets. Jasprit Bumrah took four scalps, while Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets, but Rohit Sharma bore the brunt for his poor captaincy for the Indian team.
Rohit’s decision-making has been repeatedly questioned. For the first two days, Rohit found it difficult to get the most out of India’s bowling attack, whether it was through the use of his bowlers or matchups against various Australian hitters.
Ravi Shastri criticizes Rohit Sharma’s bowling changes
Shastri questioned Rohit and head coach Gambhir about the choice to include two spinners in the playing XI during his commentary duties on Day 2 of the Melbourne Test because they failed to demonstrate the necessary faith in them.
“Why did you take 2 spinners if you had to bowl them after 40 overs? In Melbourne, spinners should always bowl in 1 or 1 and a half overs. I didn’t understand why Jadeja and Sundar bowled after 40 overs,” Shastri said in commentary.
Shastri also stated that Rohit Sharma should’ve started with Jasprit Bumrah instead of Mohammed Siraj. Shastri questioned not just Rohit’s bowling changes but also his field placements.
“India should’ve started with Bumrah but Siraj bowled the first over. With SIraj’s confidence being low, it’s important to handle him well. You see, Mitchell Starc has come and you have long on and long off fielders. At least put one of them up,” Shastri added.
“Pretty ordinary bowling”- Sunil Gavaskar
Ex-India captain Sunil Gavaskar also slammed the Indian bowling unit and said that the bite was missing from the attack. Sunil Gavaskar was also furious after viewing India’s bowling performance in the middle. Except for Jasprit Bumrah, no Indian bowler stepped forward. Gavaskar claimed that India’s pacers ‘wasted’ the new ball.
“Pretty ordinary blowing. If you have to bowl a bouncer, you get it around the helmet’s badge and not around the waist. I’m very disappointed, I’m sorry. This new ball has been wasted. Aakash Deep has been all over the place. He has wasted the new ball by bowling way outside off stump. The Indians have also been sloppy in the field,” the original Little Master said on commentary.
India managed 164/5 at stumps on day 2 with Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring 82 and Virat Kohli making 36 runs. Rohit Sharma opened the batting for India and managed just 3 runs, before getting out.
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