Rohit Sharma is currently seen in the worst of his form in red ball cricket. His poor performances against New Zealand followed by Australia put a question mark on his batting ability.
The stats of the Indian skipper is not that good as he managed only 164 runs in just 15 innings, having scored just one half-century. His averages dipped down to 10.93. As he was unable to perform in tests, he marked himself unavailable for the final and 5th test against Australia and put his name out of the playing 11.
Former Indian wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta predicted that the next 5 months will be important for the Indian skipper as it will decide the future of him. He needs to perform in the upcoming Champions Trophy and then followed by IPL.
Since Virat Kohli is also not in top notch form, the former wicket-keeper also suggested that do not combine the performances of Rohit and Virat as earlier the same didn’t happen when Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were playing for the team.
Kohli who only scored one century in 2024 has managed just 382 runs in 19 innings with an average of 22.47 in the tests. After a very long time, the Indian star batter is currently not in top 20 in tests due to his back to back failures in red ball cricket.
“Let’s not club Rohit and Virat together. Just like in the previous generation of Indian cricket, where Sachin and Rahul were different, you have to evaluate each player individually. For Rohit, the next five months of predominantly international white-ball cricket and the IPL will be crucial. The weight of his performances in these formats will be telling. Beyond that, factors like his first-class cricket form, fitness levels, and performance in the Champions Trophy will also be important. The final decision rests with the selectors.” Dasgupta in a recent Star Sports talk show.
The Men in Blue will start their Champions Trophy journey from February 20. They are in Group A alongwith Pakistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand. Their first match will be against Bangladesh on February 20. The team is yet to be announced and it is most expectedly to be announced today.
Dasgupta’s profile credit: NDTV Sports