"This was not expected from Rohit Sharma" - Mohammad Kaif says captaincy was extremely ordinary

Mohammad Kaif feels Rohit Sharma made some tactical mistakes as skipper in the first ODI between India and Bangladesh in Mirpur on Sunday, December 4.

The Men in Blue were bowled out for 186 runs after being asked to bat first. However, they seemed headed for a win when they reduced Litton Das and Co. to 136/9 before an unbroken 51-run last-wicket partnership between Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mustafizur Rahman took the hosts across the finish line.

While reviewing the game on Sony Sports, Kaif was not impressed with Rohit's captaincy, elaborating:

"The captaincy was extremely ordinary. This was not expected from Rohit Sharma. I agree he is a good captain, but the team he is playing and the changes he is making. Washi Sundar bowls five overs, picks up two wickets, he didn't concede even a single boundary, and Rohit Sharma didn't get him to bowl."

The former Indian batter pointed out that Rohit opted to bowl inexperienced pacers ahead of a spinner who had enjoyed success in the game. He explained:

"He went with the fast bowlers who were not experienced. You talk about Kuldeep (Sen), he was playing his first match. You talk about Chahar, he is not getting a place, playing at times and is dropped on other occasions. Shardul Thakur does not play regularly. Bumrah and Shami are not here, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar does not play ODIs."

Rohit Sharma's captaincy makes Virat Kohli look like a legend and MSD like a God.

Washington Sundar was not given the ball after the 26th over of Bangladesh's innings. Miraz took Kuldeep Sen and Deepak Chahar to the cleaners to help the Tigers register an unlikely win.

"Rohit Sharma is known for his tactics" - Mohammad Kaif says the Indian captain made mistakes

Rohit Sharma has led the Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Kaif believes the Mumbai Indians skipper got his tactics wrong while leading India on Sunday. He observed:

"Rohit Sharma is known for his tactics, captains the Mumbai Indians and understands the situation well but today he made mistakes. This is a young bowling attack. Someone who was bowling well was not given the ball later on, that he is a spinner and will get hit. He was having a good day, so make him bowl."

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by highlighting that Sundar was underutilized with the ball despite striking two crucial blows. He stated:

"Rohit Sharma is the captain. He should know that the ball is turning on this pitch and Sundar is bowling well. The set batter who was batting on 40 was dismissed down the leg. He dismissed a top batter like Shakib, two big wickets, and after that, he was not given the ball."

Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in today’s match has raised many questions. It also strengthens the argument that the IPL can’t be compared to international cricket.

India lost a match that they should have won by at least 45 runs.

Sundar dismissed Litton Das (41) and Shakib Al Hasan (29) to bring India back into the game after the duo had strung together a 48-run third-wicket partnership. The off-spinner was surprisingly given just one more over after getting rid of Al Hasan.