"Even In WTC And IPL...": Anil Kumble's Big Statement On Rohit Sharma's Form

15.07.2023 - 04:17 sports.ndtv.com

Rohit Sharma finally put an end to poor form, scoring a century in the first Test against West Indies in Dominica. Reaching the triple-digit score would do good to the confidence of the India skipper who was struggling to score big for a while now.

Reacting to Rohit's century, India great Anil Kumble heaped praise on the veteran batter but also asserted that, for him, the Hitman was never out of form.

For Jumbo, Rohit wasn't exactly 'out of form', even in the World Cup Test Championship final and the Indian Premier League. In a chat on Jio Cinema, after Rohit brought up his ton, Kumble said that the India skipper looked determined to do well from the first ball he faced. "You saw from Ball 1, the moment he stepped out, he knew he had to play a different kind of an innings, it was not the kind of pitch where the ball was coming onto the bat.

Rohit likes the pace, even when the fast bowlers bowled those short deliveries, it was not coming on. He was happy to stay restrained and then, yes, on a couple of occasions, he took on the bowlers and hit them over the top," Kumble said.

cricket India Cricket Team West Indies Cricket Team 2023 West Indies vs India on Rohit Sharma Anil Kumble Australia India Dominica

Former Pakistan cricket team captain Salman Butt believes that India skipper Rohit Sharma has not performed in pressure situations for quite some time now and he needs to work on it ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023. Rohit had a good outing against West Indies in the Test series but did not play much in the three-match ODI series. He came to bat after India had lost five wickets and was rested for the next two games of the series. Earlier, he missed quite a number of white-ball matches and his last ODI century came in January 2023 when he scored 101 against New Zealand in Indore.

"People Finding Points To Blame Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma": Ravichandran Ashwin Takes Swipe Critics

Fuming over certain Indian fans and experts' 'over-reaction' to the management's decision of benching Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the ODI series against West Indies, Ravichandran Ashwin hasn't held back. The veteran off-spinner, disappointed with the public sentiment over the absence of Rohit and Kohli in the ODI series, Ashwin jumped to the defence of coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit. The marquee spinner feels some people are just trying to find reasons to blame the captain-coach duo without understanding the extent of injuries the squad has at the moment.

No Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma Again For India In Must-Win Contest vs West Indies. Stand-in Captain Hardik Pandya Says This

India chose to go without Virat Kohli and regular skipper Rohit Sharma yet again in the must-win third ODI against West Indies in Trinidad on Tuesday. The duo had been rested for the second ODI against West Indies which India lost as the hosts levelled the three-match series 1-1. At the toss, Hardik Pandya came, which made it apparent that Rohit Sharma was not in the XI. When he was asked about whether Kohli was playing or not, Pandya gave this answer: "Two changes for us. Ruturaj comes in place of Umran and Unadkat comes in place of Axar. Going to the decider the boys are pumped up and looking forward to the game. Looks good (the surface), I don't think much will change, batting first gives a good opportunity for us to set a good total."

India's Predicted XI vs West Indies, 3rd ODI: Will Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Be Back For Series Finale?

After facing a shocking a six-wicket defeat in the second ODI, India will be taking on West Indies in the third and final match of the series on Tuesday. India will be hoping the experiment of trying out Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav in the middle-order works when they take on the West Indies in the ODI series decider in Tarouba. India, who have not lost an ODI series to West Indies since 2006, face a rare series defeat after their move to rest skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli backfired in the second game in Barbados.

"Why Stop?": Ex-India Star's Stern Warning For Rohit Sharma And Co Ahead Of 3rd ODI Against West Indies

India meet the West Indies in the third and final ODI at Trinidad on Tuesday with the series on the line. While the visitors won the opening game, the hosts restored parity in the following match-up with a six-wicket win. India rested skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the previous match and former India cricketer Aakash Chopra feels they should continue experimenting if the management thinks that's the way forward. “If you were to look at the series for experiments, why stop? If you're going in with the philosophy that ‘I am going to try a lot of cricketers, I'm going to give chances to the players who haven't gotten enough game time.' Why change? You've done it in the first game, you've done it in the second game. Just give more opportunities to the players who haven't gotten enough in the past,” said Aakash Chopra on JioCinema.

Why Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma Didn't Play 2nd ODI? Rahul Dravid Gives Intriguing Explanation

Hoping to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, Team India suffered a shocking loss to West Indies in the second ODI on Saturday. After opting to bat, India stand-in captain Hardik Pandya opted to bat, with both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli rested. Sanju Samson was added into the XI, but failed to make a mark as India were bowled out for 181 in 40.5 overs. Ishan Kishan (55) and Shubman Gill (34) added 90 runs for the first wicket, before the visitors suffered a batting collapse.