“Wanted Gill to carry on” - Rohit Sharma reacts to outburst after being run out in 1st IND vs AFG T20I
Indian captain Rohit Sharma downplayed his angry reaction after being run out for a duck following a mix-up with Shubman Gill in the first T20I against Afghanistan in Mohali on Thursday, January 11. He stated that such things happen and that his outburst was because he was frustrated as he wanted to be out there and score runs.
The T20I against Afghanistan in Mohali marked Rohit’s comeback to the format in international cricket. He last represented India in a T20I in November 2022 during the World Cup in Australia. Rohit’s stay at the crease was a very short-lived one though. He was run out second ball in India’s chase of 159.
The Indian captain pushed a ball from Fazalhaq Farooqi to the right of mid-off and set off for a single. Gill, however, was ball watching and did not respond. Rohit kept running and ended up getting run out. Before walking off, he was furious at Gill and gave the batter a piece of his mind.
Asked about the incident at the post-match press conference, he said:
"These things happen (on the run-out). When it happens you feel frustrated, you want to be out there and score runs for the team. Everything will not go your way. We won the game, that's more important. I wanted Gill to carry on, unfortunately got out after playing a very good little innings."
Following Rohit’s early dismissal, Gill opened up and hit five boundaries. He was, however, dismissed for 23 off 12, stumped off Mujeeb Ur Rahman as he charged down the track and completely missed the ball.
Shivam Dube guided Team India’s chase with an unbeaten 60 off 40 balls, while Jitesh Sharma (31 off 20) and Tilak Varma (26 off 22) also made handy contributions. The hosts went past Afghanistan’s score in 17.3 overs.
“We want to keep trying different things” - Rohit Sharma
Speaking after the win, Rohit stated that India are aiming to try out different bowlers in different situations and see how they respond. He, however, added that winning matches remains their topmost priority.
"We want to keep trying different things - try and bowl our bowlers in different situations of the game, like you saw today, Washi (Washington Sundar) bowled the 19th over. We want to challenge ourselves in the areas we are slightly uncomfortable with and the bowlers are not used to that,” Rohit said.
"We want to try and do that. Keeping all of those things in mind, we'll try and do whatever is possible but not at the cost of the game. We want to make sure that we come out on top and play the game well. All in all, today was a good day for us," the Indian captain added.
The second T20I of the India vs Afghanistan series will be played at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Sunday, January 14.