"Their shadows are looming large" - Aakash Chopra on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli being missed because of India's underwhelming performances
Aakash Chopra has highlighted that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli start getting missed whenever the young Indian team fails to deliver the goods in T20I cricket.
The experienced duo are not part of India's squad for the ongoing T20I series against the West Indies. They haven't played a T20I since last year's T20 World Cup and there is no official confirmation on whether they are still in the selectors' scheme of things for the shortest format.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that Rohit and Virat are remembered whenever the Indian top order fails to fire and they end up losing the game. He elaborated:
"I wish Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill do well together. As they say - if the start is not good, how will the end result be good? The Indian team is a living example of that, they are not starting well."
The former Indian opener added:
"Whenever they don't get a good start and whenever the Indian team fails, this young team will have to remember that two huge names are not a part of this team. Their shadows are looming large. The fan armies, for actually the right reasons, get activated."
Chopra observed that the fan armies highlight the importance of the two stalwarts in such scenarios. He said:
"They say this is the situation of the team when Rohit (Sharma) and Virat (Kohli) are not there and that they won't watch cricket at all because your team has become so ordinary."
The Indian top order has been found wanting in the first two T20Is against the Windies. They have neither given the team an explosive start nor managed to preserve wickets for the latter stages of the innings.
"It is not that India won every game when Rohit and Virat used to play" - Aakash Chopra
However, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's presence doesn't guarantee success. He explained:
"It is not that India won every game when Rohit and Virat used to play. If that had been the case, they would have won a few ICC trophies after 2013. That has not happened and you have seen Rohit and Virat in every ICC trophy after 2013."
While acknowledging that the duo's presence makes a difference, the reputed commentator highlighted that the Men in Blue have still fallen short in crucial encounters. He observed:
"I am again not saying that their playing doesn't make a difference. They are quality players, how will it not make a difference? They score runs when they play but their playing does not mean they will score runs and the team will lift the trophy. India have gone on to lose crunch matches."
Chopra pointed out that India failed to reach the final of last year's Asia Cup as well as the knockout stages of the 2021 T20 World Cup, and were eliminated in the semi-final of the 2022 T20 World Cup. He concluded by observing that India haven't played well even in the two stalwarts' presence.