Former Indian World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev reckons questions will be raised on Rohit Sharma’s form as he could not even score a fifty in 14 matches of the recently concluded Tata Indian Premier League 2022 while leading Mumbai Indians.
Rohit could only score 268 runs in 14 matches for the five-time champions at an average of 19.14 and a strike rate of 120.17. Thus, he could not lead the team from the front and MI could not come up with a collective effort.
After a poor performance in the IPL, Rohit was given a rest for the five-match T20I series against South Africa. On the other hand, Virat Kohli had a disappointing season for RCB as he scored 341 runs from his 16 appearances at an average of 22.73. Furthermore, his strike rate was below par as he scored at 115.99. Kohli was also rested for the T20I series against the Proteas.
Former Indian all-rounder, who had a long career and remained at the top of his fitness, feels both Rohit and Virat should enjoy their game to get the best out of themselves.
“It’s hard to know today who has been rested or asked to be rested. Only selectors will know about this,” Kapil said on UnCut.
“The player (Rohit) is brilliant, no question about that. But if you don’t score a fifty in 14 matches, questions will be raised, be it Gary Sobers, Don Bradman, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar or Viv Richards. Only Rohit can answer that what’s happening. Is it too much (cricket) or has he stopped enjoying it?”
“Players like Rohit and Virat (Kohli) should enjoy the game. How they feel is very important (for their performances).”
Dev added that it is hard to understand why Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were rested despite poor performance in the IPL. Meanwhile, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri and players like Brett Lee and Michael Vaughan feel Kohli should take a break from the game.
“You have to score runs (to get back in form). You cannot go too far based on reputation alone. Eventually, the opportunities will get dried up. How many chances would you need after 14 games? Can’t understand why they’re rested. If dropped, where they will get a chance to play then? It’s quite difficult to see how they play now,” Kapil further said.
“What I feel is that these players need to correct their thinking. I would be happy if they prove me wrong. If you aren’t scoring runs, then there’s a problem somewhere. Either there’s too much cricket or too less. We only see one thing – how you perform. If performance has dropped, then hard to stop people from talking. It’s not possible. Your performance and bat should speak. Rest doesn’t matter.
“He (Kohli) is like a hero to us. We used to think if there would come a player who we can compare to Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, and Sachin Tendulkar. We never thought like that. Then he (Kohli) emerged onto the scene. Now, the comparison is gone (for the past two years). He will have to address his cricket mentally,” he added.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma scored 25 runs whereas Kohli scored 33 runs in the first innings of the four-day warm-up match against Leicestershire on Thursday.
