The former Indian batter, Sanjay Manjrekar, has blamed the current Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, for his defensive and selfish move during the fourth Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The latter decided to open the innings for India’s batting, which ended in a result of KL Rahul dropping down at number three despite being the best batter for a long time.
Sanjay Manjrekar felt that the decision from the Mumbai batter was made to bring him back in. He criticized the Indian leader for his choice of opening after a struggle in the middle order. Undoubtedly, Rahul has been the best batter for India in the series so far, where he has negotiated the new ball brilliantly.
Rohit came into the series after his poor performance of 91 runs in six innings at home against New Zealand before he managed 19 more in three innings down under. The veteran’s time at the crease was brief in the first innings of Melbourne before he fell to Cummins.
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“An issue which is deeply connected with the Indian cricket culture Mark, is that all those iconic players in India, struggling for runs, and then we go out of the way to make sure that he comes back into form.” Sanjay Manjrekar expressed in the commentary box as quoted by the Times of India.
“We make all kinds of adjustments to give the best kind of platform or opportunity for the iconic players. A situation where KL Rahul has been the best opener for both sides, the most consistent batter for India – he is being displaced from his position, batting at No.3, so that Rohit Sharma is allowed to get into form.” The former Mumbai batter was highlighted during the discussion.
Sanjay Manjrekar slams Rohit Sharma’s decision to open the batting
Rohit missed the opening game of the series due to the birth of his second child when Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal put on a 201-run opening stand in the second innings to set the platform for their 295-run victory, which pushed the T20 World Cup-winning captain to be shifted into the middle order.
Sanjay Manjrekar stated that it wasn’t the best decision from the management while taking into account cricketing logic and what would be beneficial for the side.
“KL Rahul has been so good at that position. It’s not easy opening in Australia. Jaiswal and KL Rahul had a record partnership for India in Australia, but India was quite happy to break that partnership to allow a big-name player to succeed.” The former batter for India shed light.
“In Australia when you have found an opener who has looked the part, pushing him down to number 3 to get a woefully out-of-form big-name player to open, I thought was just a poor call.” Sanjay Manjrekar added.
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Mark Nicholas, who was on air with Sanjay Manjrekar, then, felt saw same as he addressed that there are a few drawbacks in Indian cricket in praising the individual stars above the game.
“When they are (captains) out of form, it is what creates a problem, and other players end up as the sacrificial lambs for it. It is a pity. In terms of India and celebrities, no doubt, it’s amazing how the game is celebrated in India. But in many ways, it is celebrated because of its players more than because of the art of the game.” The renowned commentator concluded.
It will be interesting to see if Rohit ends up opening the batting in the second innings or if Rahul goes back to open again.