“Don’t think there was a need for a break” - RP Singh questions decision to rest Rohit Sharma for South Africa T20Is

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma. Pic: Getty Images

Former Indian pacer RP Singh has raised questions over the decision to rest captain Rohit Sharma for the upcoming home T20I series against South Africa. According to Singh, there was no reason for Rohit to take a break and, being the captain, he should have played.

The 35-year-old had led the Indian team during the white-ball series' against Sri Lanka and West Indies at home in February. He was also the captain during the two Tests against Sri Lanka in March. However, he missed the entire South African tour (December 2021-January 2022) due to injury and has been given frequent breaks in between as well.

In an interview with India TV, Singh opined about Rohit’s decision to skip the South Africa T20Is:

“I think he should have played the series. Taking rest or not is his personal thought. It depends on how much fatigue he is experiencing. But I don’t think there was a need for a break. He should have played. It’s a long series and, remember, he is the captain as well.”

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Rohit recently led the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2022. The five-time champions finished last, winning only four of their 14 matches.

“His performances have been inconsistent” - RP Singh on Rohit Sharma’s disappointing IPL 2022 season

While the franchise struggled, the MI skipper too had a poor season with the bat. He ended the edition with 268 runs from 14 matches at an average of 19.14 and a best of 48.

Reflecting on the star batter's poor showing, Singh pointed out that the right-hander has not been consistent in the T20 league over the last three to four editions. He elaborated:

“In the IPL, Rohit hasn’t scored over 400 runs in the last few seasons. There are many others who have crossed the 400-run mark. His performances have been inconsistent in the tournament but he used to come up with a couple of match-winning knocks. So everyone felt the spark in his batting was there. In the shortest format, you need match-winners. Even if they fire in a couple of matches, the team will win those.”

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BCCI have announced the India squad for the five-match T20I series against South Africa 🇮🇳🏏

🔹 Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli & Jasprit Bumrah rested
🔹 Umran Malik & Arshdeep Singh get their maiden 🇮🇳 call-up
🔹 Hardik Pandya & DK are back

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Rohit scored 405 runs from 15 matches in the 2019 IPL season and followed it up with 332 from 12 matches in 2020 and 381 runs from 13 games in 2021.