India captain Rohit Sharma is facing a slump in form. The seasoned campaigner failed to deliver in the series against Australia and also dropped himself from the fifth Test in Sydney. Later, Rohit Sharma flopped on his Ranji Trophy return and in the first ODI against England, Rohit Sharma scored only two. His form is a matter of huge concern for India ahead of the Champions Trophy and the remaining two matches against England will be a good platform for the 37-year-old to get back to scoring.
In the meantime, the Nagpur-born Rohit Sharma also faced immense flak on social media. There have been talks of him getting dropped from the Test squad and if he fails to improve, the same discussions will take place for ODIs as well. Former India international Ravichandran Ashwin believes that the critics will only stop when Rohit Sharma delivers with the bat but also noted that Rohit will head to the Champions Trophy with a lot of confidence as he has done well in the format.
Ravichandran Ashwin reacts to Rohit Sharma’s poor form; expects critics to stop when India captain performs
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin commented on India captain Rohit Sharma’s poor form in recent times and suggested him that the only way to stop questions on his form is by performing. Rohit Sharma didn’t have a memorable outing on his ODI return after six months as he got dismissed for just 2 (7) in the first game against England on Thursday, February 6 in Nagpur.
The India skipper has been enduring poor form as he could only score just 164 runs from eight matches in the recent long Test season at an average of 10.93 with just one half-century. Rohit was even asked about his prolonged poor patch ahead of the first ODI vs England and questions were also raised about his future.
Recently, Ashwin extended support to Rohit Sharma saying it would be frustrating for the India captain to go through such questions. He also hoped for him to score a century in the ongoing series to answer his critics. Notably, Rohit Sharma has scored only 166 runs in his 16 innings across formats. As an opener, he plays a crucial role and him getting into form is of the utmost importance.
Ravichandran Ashwin Praying For Rohit Sharma To Score Century Against England
With less than two weeks before India start their quest for another ICC title at the Champions Trophy 2025, concerns over the form of their premier batter Rohit Sharma remain. The seasoned campaigner has been struggling to get going for some time now across formats with him managing just two runs in the recent ODI between India and England held in Nagpur.
Rohit Sharma has scored just 166 runs in his last 16 innings across formats, and he even dropped himself from India’s playing XI for the final Test of their Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia last month.
Ravichandran Ashwin, a former teammate of Rohit, sympathizes with the India ODI captain but adds that the 37-year-old will continue to be scrutinized and the only way to stop the criticism is to score runs.
“This is not easy. If you look at it from Rohit’s point of view, then obviously, it is frustrating for him. He wants to concentrate on the series. He thinks that I’ve done well in this format and I’d like to continue. I’m going into the tournament with a lot of confidence on the back of the One-Day tournaments that I’ve played,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“But people will ask questions. The ones who are watching will obviously ask. It’s a catch-22 situation. You can’t stop these questions. When will they stop? When he performs,” he added.
Ashwin is praying for Rohit Sharma to score a hundred in the ongoing three-match series against England.
“But as a cricketer, I understand what Rohit is going through. It’s not easy. I pray that he does well and scores a century in this series,” Ashwin said.
Star batter Virat Kohli too struggled lately and his form will be monitored in the series against England. He missed the opening ODI of the series owning to a knee injury.
Meanwhile, India won the first ODI against England by four wickets as Shubman Gill (87), Shreyas Iyer (59) and Axar Patel (52) played valuable knocks to help their team chase down 249. Despite India’s clinical win, focus was on Rohit Sharma’s poor performance as it’s extremely crucial for the India skipper to get amongst the runs ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Hence, the opening batter will be eager to find his form back in the second ODI on Sunday, February 9 at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack.