“Like Virat Kohli, he is one of the best cricketers in our country” – Former India captain backs under-fire Rohit Sharma amid BGT 2024-25 Test series
Former India captain Kapil Dev has backed out-of-form Rohit Sharma ahead of the third Test of the ongoing five-match series in Brisbane, which starts on December 14. The 1983 World Cup-winning skipper said Rohit was amongst the four best batters to have played for the country, keeping him in the same bracket as Virat Kohli.
Kapil Dev’s remarks came despite Rohit managing 142 runs in his last six Tests (12 innings) at an average of 11.83, including a solitary half-century. The 37-year-dropped himself in Adelaide to accommodate KL Rahul at the opening slot but failed miserably in the middle order. The right-handed batter returned with scores of three and six in his two outings.
Speaking about Rohit Sharma, Kapil Dev said in an event at Delhi Golf Club on Monday, December 9 (via News 18):
“Like Virat Kohli, he is one of the best cricketers in our country. If you put the four top batsmen, he will be there. If he is going through a rough time, it is only up to him how fast he can bounce back.”
“He doesn’t have to prove himself. He has done this for many, many years, so let’s not doubt somebody. I won’t doubt him. I hope his form comes back, that’s important,” he added.
“Just six months back he won the T20 World Cup” – Kapil Dev slams critics on Rohit Sharma’s captaincy
Kapil Dev further slammed the critics for questioning Rohit Sharma’s captaincy after he lost four games in a row, including a 0-3 defeat by New Zealand at home. The legendary all-rounder pointed out that Rohit led to the 2024 T20 World Cup crown earlier this year. He said during the same interaction:
“With one or two performances, if you doubt someone’s captaincy, I mean, just six months back when he won the T20 World Cup, you wouldn’t have asked me this question. Let it go, knowing his ability and talent, he will come back. They will come back strongly.”
Rohit Sharma is the fourth captain after Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni (twice), and Virat Kohli to lose four Tests in a row.
Indian captains with the most consecutive losses in Tests:
- 6 MAK Pataudi (1967-68)
- 5 Sachin Tendulkar (1999-00)
- 4 Datta Gaekwad (1959)
- 4 MS Dhoni (2011)
- 4 MS Dhoni (2014)
- 4 Virat Kohli (2020-21)
- 4 Rohit Sharma (2024)*
On Jasprit Bumrah’s captaincy in the 295-run win in Perth, Dev said it was too early to comment on his leadership. The 65-year-old continued:
“I think it is too early to talk about that. With one performance, you can’t say he is the best, and with one bad performance, you can’t say he doesn’t deserve it.”
“Let a player play a lot of cricket, take on a lot of captaincy. Ups and downs will come, and then you judge a person by how he reacts in difficult times, not in good times. In good times, we don’t have to judge. When he is down and out,” he added.
Dev further shied away from answering whether Harshit Rana’s inclusion for the second Test after the pacer was a wrong move after he conceded 86 runs without bagging any wickets. He concluded:
“I am a nobody. How can I judge? There are people up there who have the responsibility to decide who should be in the team."
Australia won the second Test by 10 wickets against the visitors to level the series 1-1. The visitors will look to bounce back as they aim to complete a hat-trick of Test series wins Down Under.