"Please rest yourself and give Yashasvi a chance" - Fans react to Rohit Sharma's early dismissal in IND vs AFG T20 World Cup 2024 game
Fans slammed Indian skipper Rohit Sharma after he was dismissed for eight off 13 in the Super 8 game of the T20 World Cup against Afghanistan on Thursday, June 20. The Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, is hosting this crucial clash.
Rohit began his innings on a cautious note and accumulated five runs in the first over against Fazalhaq Farooqi. The last ball of the third over saw the Indian skipper swing one across the line and was undone by the two-paced nature of the wicket. As a result, he was caught at the mid-on by Rashid Khan.
Rohit's struggle against left-arm pacers continued in the World Cup. He was previously dismissed by the likes of Saurabh Netravalkar and Shaheen Afridi in the group-stage games. He has the most (19) single-digit dismissals in the ICC events for the Men in Blue.
Fans were disappointed with Rohit Sharma's innings and criticized him on X:
Here are some other reactions:
"ROHIT SHARMA has been dismissed by a left arm pacer for the 24th time in T20I. Most by anyone in the format!!," one fan commented.
"2022 T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul giving negative starts. 2024 T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli giving negative starts, " another fan posted.
"Removing Jaiswal from the opening was the worst decision, Rohit Sharma needs some time at the start, especially in these conditions," a fan tweeted.
India's top-order fails to deliver against Afghanistan
Apart from Rohit Sharma, other Indian top-order batters like Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant also departed without making a significant impact.
Kohli (24 off 24) couldn't convert his start into a big knock and holed out at long-off. Meanwhile, despite receiving a reprieve, Pant (20 off 11) was trapped LBW by Rashid Khan.
However, the duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube helped the team to recover from a mediocre start with a 28-run stand. At the time of writing, the Indian team were placed at 90/4 in 11 overs with Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar in the middle.