India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak defended Rohit Sharma amidst his terrible patch of form. Sitanshu Kotak said that Rohit Sharma was going through a ‘lean patch’ and that it was not a point of concern for the Indian team. While giving Virat Kohli’s fitness status a go-ahead, India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak also brushed aside concerns about Rohit Sharma’s lengthy lean patch. The captain Rohit Sharma has been short of runs for a while now.
India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has said that he does not see any problem with Rohit Sharma’s form, backing him to score runs in the next two ODIs against England as well as the Champions Trophy. Struggling to find his rhythm, Rohit Sharma continued his catastrophic run from the Tests and was dismissed for just two off seven deliveries in the first ODI against England.
Rohit Sharma’s lean patch with the bat the concern for all ahead of the marquee ICC tournament
Rohit Sharma might have scored just 166 runs in the last 16 innings, but that is not a cause for concern, said India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak. Rohit Sharma, who has been going through a rough patch of form since India’s home Test series against New Zealand, is desperately looking to get back in form.
Rohit Sharma recently returned to domestic cricket, hoping to rediscover his form, but was not successful. The batter snapped at a journalist in a pre-series press conference when asked about his ongoing lean patch. Things did not get better in the 1st ODI either, as the batter survived just 7 balls and scored 2 runs.
After a slow start to their chase in the first game in Nagpur, Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill gave India a solid platform before Axar Patel joined Gill to take India closer to the finish line. However, there was a mini-collapse as the hosts lost six wickets soon after, before reaching home with four wickets in hand.
Speaking about the India captain, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said that there was no problem with Rohit Sharma’s batting in white-ball cricket, as he had scored runs in India’s previous ODI series against Sri Lanka.
Team India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak downplays concern over Rohit Sharma’s form ahead of IND vs ENG 2025 2nd ODI
Team India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has downplayed concerns over skipper Rohit Sharma’s form ahead of the second one-dayer against England at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack. Admitting that that right-handed batter struggled in Australia, Kotak asserted that the Hitman has been consistent in ODIs.
Having taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, the Men in Blue will be keen to go 2-0 up when they face England in Cuttack on Sunday, February 9. India impressed with the ball in the opening one-dayer in Nagpur as debutant Harshit Rana and Ravindra Jadeja claimed three scalps each. In the chase, three batters hit fifties but Rohit was out for two off seven, looking completely out of sorts.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference on the eve of the Cuttack ODI, India’s batting coach Kotak dismissed all concerns over skipper Rohit’s form and asserted (as quoted by Cricbuzz):
“I personally don’t think there’s any problem. The last 3 one-dayers Rohit has played, he has scored 58, 64 and 35. The guy has got 31 one-day hundreds. Sometimes whenever there’s a little lean patch, I don’t think I’d be worried or thinking about their form.
“Yes in Tests in Australia it was a tough time. About one-dayers, he’s always been scoring runs so not concerned,” the 52-year-old added.
Rohit Sharma was the top run-getter in India’s previous one-day series, which was played in Sri Lanka in August 2024. Even as the Men in Blue went down 2-0 in the three-match series, the opening batter scored 157 runs at an average of 52.33.
Rohit addressed the media ahead of the opening ODI against England in Nagpur. At the press conference, he was irked by a query over his poor form. Asked about his disappointing performance in Australia, he replied:
“What kind of a question is that? This is a different format, different time. As usual, as cricketers, we know there will be ups and downs and I have faced a lot in my career so this is nothing new to me. We know every day is a fresh day, every series is a fresh series.”
Overall, Rohit Sharma has an impressive record in the one-day format. In 266 matches, the 37-year-old has amassed 10,868 runs at an average of 48.95 and a strike rate of 92.39, with 31 hundreds and 57 half-centuries to his name.