Former Indian cricket team captain Sunil Gavaskar lashed out at Rohit Sharma’s critics following Team India’s victory over Australia in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Sunil Gavaskar also criticized the broadcaster for highlight Rohit Sharma’s weakness against left-arm pacers in the T20I format.
Rohit Sharma struggled against left-arm pacers in the T20 World Cup 2024. The right-handed batsman was dismissed by Shaheen Afridi, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Saurabh Netravalkar in the tournament. However, the Indian captain dominated Australian pacer Mitchell Starc in India’s final Super 8 match at the event.
The 37-year-old batsman smashed four sixes and a boundary off Mitchell Starc for a single. The veteran opener fell short of a well-deserved century as he was dismissed for 92 runs off just 41 balls, including seven fours and eight sixes. The Indian team posted a total of 205/5 in 20 overs in St. Lucia on Monday.
Rohit Sharma came out with a left-hander – Sunil Gavaskar
Speaking on Star Sports after the match, Sunil Gavaskar stated that batsmen face challenges when playing attacking shots against swinging pitches. Gavaskar emphasized that such scrutiny should not overshadow Rohit’s overall batting prowess and his match-winning contributions.
“Just thinking about Rohit Sharma once again, he came out with a left-hander. So before the next match, let’s do another segment on his weakness towards left-handers? He came out with a left-hander, right? So another segment next time “Gavaskar said.
“That’s the thing, with the new ball they’re going to get the ball to swing. And if you’re looking to hit attacking shots where you know your bat is a little bit ahead of the bag, you’re going to be out.” “LBW, you’re going to be sidelined, so I don’t think you should pay too much attention to that,” he added.
Poses a challenge for an opening batsman – Aaron Finch
Australia captain Aaron Finch defended the broadcaster’s analysis of Rohit Sharma’s challenges against left-arm seamers. Finch mentioned that left-arm bowlers like Trent Boult, Mitchell Starc and Shaheen Shah Afridi posed challenges to Rohit in international cricket.
“There are more left-arm players playing now, and they are real swing bowlers. A lot of them too, particularly in the front. You look at Trent Bolt, Mitchell Starc, Shaheen Shah Afridi, your left-arm swing bowler. That poses a challenge for the first batter,” Finch said on Star Sports.
The Rohit Sharma-led team restricted the Australian team to 181 runs in 20 overs. Rohit was named ‘Man of the Match’ for his winning half-century. The Men in Blue achieved their sixth consecutive victory in the current World Cup. India finished on top of Group 1 of Super Eight in the ICC tournament.
The inaugural T20 World Cup champions will face England in the second semi-final match at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Thursday, June 27. The Men in Blue hope to take revenge on the team led by Jos Buttler for their 2022 T20 World Cup. Defeat in the Cup semi-finals in Adelaide.
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