Gavaskar delivers unexpected 'not a huge concern' verdict on Rohit, Kohli's crushing fall vs Shaheen; explains reason

Sunil Gavaskar had a rather unique take on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's failure during the Asia Cup game against Pakistan.

The highly anticipated Asia Cup showdown between cricketing giants India and Pakistan ended in frustration for players and fans alike as persistent rain forced the abandonment of the Group A clash in Pallekele. Pakistan had taken the upper hand in the match, dismissing India for 266 in 48.5 overs, but nature had other plans as the rain prevented any further action, ultimately leading to a no-result.

Sunil Gavaskar (L) had a rather unusual remark on the failures of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the Asia Cup match against Pakistan (File/AP)

Babar Azam's Pakistan team, buoyed by their convincing win over Nepal in the tournament opener, thus secured its place in the Super Fours stage by sharing points with India. Pakistan's world number one ranking was evident as they dominated the opening proceedings of the game, with Shaheen Afridi spearheading a fiery pace attack that left India reeling at 66/4 before Hardik Pandya (87) and Ishan Kishan (82) led the men in blue's fightback.

Shaheen, once again, tormented the Indian top-order with Rohit Sharma (11) and Virat Kohli (4) falling cheaply against the left-armer. Shaheen castled both batting superstars, putting India under instant setback before Shreyas Iyer (14) and Shubman Gill (10) were also dismissed cheaply. But former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes that the top-order failing to deliver is not a “huge concern” for the team management.

“I don't think there's any huge concern. You look at their records. Virat has scored more than 11000 runs, Rohit has scored more than 9000 runs, Shubman Gill has shown shades of what he is capable of too. If even after big players like Virat and Rohit fail, we have a responsible No.5 and No.6 who can take us to 260-odd, we don't need to worry. These things happen in cricket, there will be days where the bowlers are too good,” Gavskar told Sports Tak.

Ishan's innings did come as a heavy sigh of relief for the Indian team management, that had been under significant scanner for its experimentation with the batting order of late. Naturally an opener, Ishan was sent to bat at no.5 – KL Rahul's original spot – but didn't show any signs of nervousness as he took on the Pakistan pace attack bravely, counter-attacking the trio with series of boundaries early into his innings.

Must win game for India

Team India faces a must-win game when it takes on Nepal in the final match of Group A on Monday. While rain threat continues to loom in Pallekele for the game, India will be in no danger to miss out on a place for the Super Fours if the match gets washed out, as Nepal had conceded a 238-run loss to Pakistan in their opener on Wednesday.