Strong words from Gautam Gambhir on the idea to rest Rohit Sharma: “You have already rested enough.”
Strong words from Gautam Gambhir on the idea to rest Rohit Sharma: “You have already rested enough.”: Former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir did not agree with the team’s decision to rest captain Rohit Sharma for Thursday’s Asia Cup 2022 match against Afghanistan, which was a must-win game. Instead, KL Rahul was named the stand-in captain. But Gautam Gambhir said rather straightforwardly that Rohit had had enough rest and should take over.
Although India’s play against Afghanistan ended their Asia Cup run on a high note, the truth is still harsh. They were knocked out of the tournament on Tuesday after a close loss to Sri Lanka. The Men in Blue had also lost their first Super4 game, which was against Pakistan.
Too many changes against Afghanistan
For the match against Afghanistan, India made three changes to their playing XI. First, Rohit, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Hardik Pandya didn’t play, and they put Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel, and Dinesh Karthik in their place.
During the commentary, former New Zealand player Scott Styris talked about the changes and asked Gambhir about why Sharma was taken out of the game. Gambhir said, “You cannot be resting, you have already rested enough – In my opinion Rohit Sharma should be playing every game from here on looking at the T20 World Cup.“
Indian team for the Asia Cup in 2022 – Is it a dream team yet?
Former cricketers and experts have put pressure on Rohit and the rest of team India by questioning their choice to change their playing XI during the Asia Cup. So far, India has only won two of their four games after making this choice, which is not a good result. Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid have said many times in media briefings that they are trying different things to find their best XI. However, India’s constant chopping and changing of players has left experts and fans alike confused.
India is under even more pressure because their bowlers aren’t doing well, and KL Rahul is batting at the top. Sharma didn’t go with India to Zimbabwe or the West Indies for ODIs before the Asia Cup. He also didn’t bat in the last match in the Asia Cup.