Indian skipper Rohit Sharma had a forgetful outing with the willow in the recently concluded 1st T20I between Team India and Aaron Finch-led Australia at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium on Tuesday. Rohit failed to fire for Team India as the veteran opener perished for 11 off 9 balls in the curtain-raiser of the three-matches series.
While Rohit failed to live up to expectations, his partner-in-crime KL Rahul returned to scoring ways in the Mohali encounter against the World Champions. Opener Rahul and all-rounder Hardik Pandya slammed quick-fire half-centuries to help Rohit-led Team India register a record total against Australia at Mohali. However, Rahul and Pandya’s batting heroics went in vain as Australia pulled off a stunning run chase to upstage India in their backyard on Tuesday.
Reflecting on the batting performance of the Indian skipper after the match, former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has come up with a bold suggestion for the senior batter. Speaking about Rohit's batting failure on his YouTube channel, Kaneria claimed that the Indian skipper has not been a consistent performer for the Asian giants.
Kaneria feels that Rohit should make way for Virat Kohli by demoting himself to the No.3 batting position. Kaneria's remark has come after makeshift-opener Kohli ended his century drought by opening the innings for India in its final Asia Cup game against Afghanistan.
{{/usCountry}}Kaneria feels that Rohit should make way for Virat Kohli by demoting himself to the No.3 batting position. Kaneria's remark has come after makeshift-opener Kohli ended his century drought by opening the innings for India in its final Asia Cup game against Afghanistan.
{{/usCountry}}"Rohit Sharma isn't scoring enough runs. We saw that during the Asia Cup too. He is getting starts, but hasn't been able to convert them into big knocks. He should consider dropping himself to No. 3 and Virat Kohli could open. Or India could ask KL Rahul to be the No. 3 with Virat and Rohit playing as openers," Kaneria said.
Though Rohit was dismissed for cheap in the 1st T20I, the Indian skipper still managed to equal a world record in the series opener against Australia. After losing the 1st T20I at the hands of Matthew Wade-starrer Australia, Rohit-led Team India will meet the visitors in the 2nd T20I on Thursday.