Virender Sehwag criticized Virat Kohli’s constant decisions to rest different players but he doesn’t do the same with himself while Ajay Jadeja said England’s decision to rest key players resulted in them losing the Test series.
When Virat Kohli at the toss of the first T20I revealed his XI for the match, the absence of Rohit Sharma had shocked many fans and experts. It was surprising as less than 24 hours ago, Virat Kohli himself had said at the pre-series press conference that Rohit Sharma will open the innings with KL Rahul.
Ajay Jadeja: No Batsman In The World Wants To Rest
The decision to rest the T20I vice-captain wasn’t taken too well, especially after the top order failed miserably in the first match. Virat Kohli scored a duck while KL Rahul managed only one. Shikhar Dhawan played a scratchy little knock of 4 runs from 12 balls, as the man in form Rohit Sharma watched from the sidelines.
Former Indian players Virender Sehwag and Ajay Jadeja heavily criticized team India’s decision. While talking in the Cricbuzz Live show, Ajay Jadeja first talked about how no batsman in the world wants to take a rest when he is in good batting form.
“No batsman wants to rest. This game runs on rhythm, so when you are in form, you always want to continue batting. This is exactly what England was trying to do in the Test matches. They rested their key players and the scoreline says it all,” Ajay Jadeja said on the show.
“Rohit is resting for the first couple of games,” stated Virat Kohli at the coin toss.
Virender Sehwag and Ajay Jadeja, on Cricbuzz, slammed the decision to rest Rohit Sharma in a marquee series. Moreover, it would have been wiser to start with Rohit Sharma which would have set the right tone before thinking of resting the in-form opener in the latter part of the series. It certainly pushed India on the back foot as both KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan were playing at the international level after a long gap exposing their tentative approach.
Virender Sehwag Questions Whether Rule Of Rest Applies For Virat Kohli As Well
Virender Sehwag soon jumped on the wagon to fire some shots at captain Virat Kohli.
“It was said that Rohit Sharma will take a break in a couple of matches, but does this rule apply for Virat Kohli as well. As a captain, I don’t think he comes and says that I will take a break for the next two or three matches. I don’t remember a time captain Kohli has taken a break by himself. If the skipper is not taking a break, so how does he give others the break? That should depend on the player,” Virender Sehwag said on the show.
Rohit Sharma was in superb form with the bat in the recently concluded Test series. He was India’s highest run-getter and in good touch with the bat, unlike the others.
“If Rohit has played the four Tests and performed well and he is in form, so he would be waiting desperately to get back to white-ball cricket and transfer that form. In Test cricket, you don’t get the freedom to express yourself, so when the white-ball comes players generally think ‘why should I defend when I can bat freely, hit fours and sixes while entertaining myself and the crowd as well,” Virender Sehwag further added.
Virender Sehwag then went on to raise the question that if Rohit Sharma comes back in the side, should Virat Kohli take his share of rest.
“So the question is whether Virat Kohli will rest himself when Rohit comebacks and plays? Whenever you feel like, you (Kohli) give a break to Rohit, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, but the same doesn’t apply to you?”
Virat Kohli’s form has been a worrying factor for Team India and its fans. While he has been among the runs in white-ball formats, he hasn’t scored an international ton since November 2019. Moreover, his early dismissals versus wrist-spinners in T20Is are now becoming a norm. To add to the team’s woes, the 32-year-old looked in a rather unusual mode, where he was willing to attack from ball one, and ultimately paid the price with a 5-ball 0 dismissal.