“You evaluate from the stats” - Gautam Gambhir hits back at Rohit Sharma’s critics after IND vs AUS 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir dismissed concerns about skipper Rohit Sharma's form after the side's comfortable four-wicket win over Australia in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal in Dubai on March 4. Despite India coasting to four consecutive wins on their way to a third straight Champions Tropy final, Rohit has struggled to produce big scores.
The veteran batter has averaged only 26 in four innings with a highest score of 41 in the opening game against Bangladesh. Rohit was dropped twice in the semifinal against Australia but failed to capitalize as he was dismissed for 28.
Nevertheless, Rohit has made a concerted effort since 2022 to maximize the power play over individual runs, evidenced by a strike rate of over 110 in each of the last four seasons in ODIs.
Addressing the question about Rohit's lack of big scores in the press conference after the semifinal against Australia, Gambhir said (via India Today):
"Look, the final of the Champions Trophy is now coming up. What can I say before that? If your captain bats with such a tempo, it just gives a very good signal to the dressing room that we want to be absolutely fearless and courageous. You evaluate from the runs; we evaluate from the impact. That's the difference. You evaluate from the stats; we evaluate from the impact."
He added:
"As journalists, as experts, you only look at numbers, averages. But as a coach, as a team, we don't look at numbers or averages. If the captain puts up his hand first, then there is nothing better than that for the dressing room."
Rohit has struggled for form across formats since the end of last year, with only two 50+ scores in his last 22 innings. His poor Test form saw him drop himself for the final game of the recent five-match series in Australia.
Rohit achieved incredible captaincy feat with 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal win over Australia
While his batting form may be indifferent, Rohit Sharma continued breaking records as a captain with the semifinal win over Australia. The 37-year-old became the first-ever captain to reach the final of all four Men's ICC tournaments - ODI and T20 World Cups, World Test Championship (WTC), and Champions Trophy.
Rohit led India to runner-up finishes in the ODI World Cup and WTC in 2023. He followed that up with his best result yet as India's captain - the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph.
He will look to make it back-to-back ICC titles for India when they take on either South Africa or New Zealand in the 2025 Champions Trophy final in Dubai on March 9.