Former cricketer Aakash Chopra lashed out at Rohit Sharma for his poor shot selection in India’s second T20I against Afghanistan on Sunday, January 14 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.
After India were asked to chase down 173, Rohit tried to take on the bowlers right from the outset, but failed miserably. Fazalhaq Farooqi cleaned him up for a duck after Rohit went for an almighty heave on the leg side.
In the first T20I in Mohali, Rohit was run out at the striker’s end after a terrible mix-up with Shubman Gill. The Indian captain’s luck did not change even in the second T20I.
“It was extremely surprising the way Rohit got out. He was playing just his first ball. He doesn’t play such shots. The ball went and hit his stumps. He got run out in the last match and was bowled for zero in this match. He hasn’t scored a single run in this series thus far,” Chopra was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.
Chopra said that with the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the T20 World Cup coming up, Rohit needs to find his feet at the earliest. However, the veteran also doesn’t expect Rohit to change his attacking approach in the top order.
“Run-out was not his mistake but the shot selection definitely was. There is no doubt about Rohit Sharma’s form and ability. However, he will have to be in form in the IPL and I feel he will bat like this only. We need 38-40, the runs he was scoring in the ODI World Cup, from his bat,” he added.
India won the second T20I by 6 wickets and took a 2-0 lead in the 3-match series. Rohit will be looking to get some runs in the third match on January 17 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
