'Hold words of MS Dhoni': Rohit Sharma receives critical verdict from Sanjay Manjrekar after 2nd Test vs England
Sanjay Manjrekar gave MS Dhoni a special mention while reflecting on Rohit Sharma's batting no-show in the Test series against England.
Not long ago, former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott launched a scathing attack on Rohit Sharma and claimed that the India captain is past his prime. Boycott raised eyebrows with his sensational remarks against the India skipper, who arrived in Hyderabad for the 1st Test against England after a blistering 121-run knock against Afghanistan. Taking on the Bazball-friendly England in the 1st innings of the series opener, Rohit scored 24 off 27 balls in Hyderabad.
The veteran opener followed his low score with a forgetful 39 as Virat Kohli-less Team India lost the 1st Test to England by 28 runs. Rohit surprisingly extended his low-scoring run in the 2nd Test against Ben Stokes' men. In a match where his partner-in-crime Yashasvi Jaiswal shattered records with his maiden double ton, India captain Rohit registered scores of 14 and 13 against the James Anderson-starrer side. Is Rohit on the road to embrace a lean patch in Test cricket?
'Rohit Sharma is getting too caught up'
Reflecting on Rohit's batting no-show against England in the action-packed Test series, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar opted to recall MS Dhoni's 'process is more important than the result' statement. “I just wonder whether Rohit Sharma is getting too caught up in trying to make an impact as a leader. It’s got to be Rohit Sharma the batter first and then the captain because when you’re captain, most things are beyond your control," Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
‘Hold words of MS Dhoni’
"Try and do the right things and hold the words of MS Dhoni. You do the process and wait for things to happen, but batting is something that’s within his control very much,” the former India batter added. Facing the heat for his batting, wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat has a better average than India skipper Rohit after the first two Tests against England. Bharat has scored 92 runs in 4 innings while skipper Rohit has amassed 90 out of four knocks against England.
'We want Rohit Sharma getting runs'
With India set to miss Kohli's services in the 3rd and 4th Tests against England, skipper Rohit will hope to up the ante with the bat in the upcoming encounter. Rohit and Co. will meet England in the 3rd Test at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on February 15. “If Rohit Sharma becomes the Rohit Sharma for a couple of years back, especially the one that we saw in England in that full series would be great. The Rohit Sharma that we saw in the first Test match in the home series against Australia. He’s got to go back to where he looked like a batter who looked supreme in Test matches. We want Rohit Sharma getting runs." Manjrekar concluded.
