Rohit Sharma and Co. were able to level the five-match Test series against England and won the second Test match by 106 runs in Visakhapatnam. Rohit put up a brilliant display of captaincy and made some right decisions throughout the match. Sharma was also brilliant in taking DRS calls, thanks to which India were able to overturn some decisions during the Vizag Test match.
However, Rohit Sharma He couldn’t score many runs with the bat and failed to convert his starts into big scores. Indian goalkeeper Dinesh Karthik, while talking to Cricbuzz, gave his opinion on Rohit’s captaincy throughout the match.
In a conversation with Harsha Bhogle, Karthik claimed that Rohit did much better than him in Hyderabad. He said that Rohit Sharma managed his players well, he was preparing the field and kept telling the players what lengths to play and at what stages. Karthik claimed that India were slow to overeat but England continued to struggle between the wickets and that is something India will have to address.
The honest review of Dinesh Karthik’s captaincy over Rohit Sharma
Dinesh Karthik saying, “I thought it was much better than what he did in Hyderabad. In terms of captaincy, in terms of how he manages his players, it was a day where you had to show empathy towards the players but also want to get the best out of them. You have a job to do here and I think Hyderabad sometimes lacked a bit of dazzle with their approach.”
He added, “I love people who do what is comfortable for them, but in this game I could see many times that he was preparing the field and also telling the players to bowl what was required at that stage. He was making sure that everyone was as alert as they would be in a short period of time. That’s something India needs, we saw England rushing between the wickets, and this comes much more naturally to them. The bowling rates in India were very slow because of the way they walk in the middle and in return it reduces the energy and also the enthusiasm that is required to increase the momentum towards your favour.”
Dinesh Karthik further added that Rohit Sharma handled the smaller details of the match well. However, he claimed that Rohit missed some tricks with the bowling changes, such as Mukesh Kumar bowling in the second innings, and also felt that Kuldeep Yadav came into the attack early. In the end, Karthik stated that there is room for improvement for Rohit Sharma.
He said, “I thought Rohit handled those smaller things very well. Regarding the bowling changes, I thought he missed a trick a couple of times. Bowling Mukesh Kumar in the second innings was one area, Kuldeep came early, but these are the things that can always be changed or managed. What Rohit thinks is always leadership skills is something we should all agree on, definitely the energy and enthusiasm required in Test cricket for the five days you are on the field, that is non-negotiable and I think “In that aspect he did much better, but there is room for improvement.”
The third Test match of the series will be played from February 15, 2024.