Sunil Gavaskar passes verdict on Rohit Sharma's flop show against Australia in ODI World Cup: 'Footwork palpably slow'

Sunil Gavaskar dissected the dismissal of Rohit Sharma after India's win over Australia in its World Cup opener.

Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar dissected the dismissal of Rohit Sharma after the batting failure of the veteran opener paved the way for India to script an unwanted record at the ICC World Cup. For the first time in the history of One Day International (ODI), three of India's top four batters failed to score a single run on Sunday. Skipper Rohit, opener Ishan Kishan and premier batter Shreyas Iyer failed to open their respective accounts when India squared off against Australia in its ICC World Cup 2023 opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Gavaskar shared his views about the dismissal of Rohit after India defeated Australia at the ODI World Cup (Hindustan Times-Reuters)

Indian skipper Rohit played an entertaining knock against Australia in its final ODI appearance before the ICC World Cup. The veteran Indian opener smashed a quick-fire 81 off just 57 balls in the third and final ODI of the three-match series against Australia. The senior batter was the leading run-getter in the 2019 edition of the ICC World Cup. Though Rohit was heavily tipped to extend his free-scoring run in India's World Cup opener, the senior batter was outsmarted by pace ace Josh Hazlewood, who also bagged the wicket of Iyer in the low-scoring encounter at Chepauk.

What makes Rohit Sharma vulnerable? Sunil Gavaskar reveals

Talking about Rohit's batting no-show against Australia, Gavaskar pointed out that the India skipper entered the ODI World Cup with a duck. Batting legend Gavaskar observed that the 2023 edition of the ICC event can also be Rohit's ODI World Cup swansong.“In the last tournament in 2019, Rohit Sharma, the Indian skipper, hit five centuries and a few half-centuries too. This time around, which could well be his last World Cup, he has begun with a zero in the first game. The footwork is palpably slow to start with, and that makes him vulnerable to the incoming delivery. If he can rediscover the 2019 form, then India will be assured of a very good start to their campaign,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

'The so-called minnows…'

Superstar Rohit will hope to make amends in India's upcoming match against Afghanistan. Hosts India will meet Afghanistan in match No.9 of the World Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday. While Rohit's India defeated Australia in its World Cup opener, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Co. kickstarted the same event with a defeat to Bangladesh in Dharamsala. "The so-called minnows, Afghanistan and the Netherlands, have started with defeats as also Sri Lanka who had to qualify for the tournament. It’s going to be a long haul for all the teams, and no one can be termed as favourites after they have played their first match. That’s why this tournament could well be the most exciting of them all," Gavaskar added.