T20 World Cup 2022: “Rohit Sharma’s time as captain seems over” - Former Team India pacer
Former pacer Atul Wassan reckons that Rohit Sharma’s tenure as T20I captain should come to an end following Team India’s loss to England in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final on Thursday, November 10.
Wassan stated that the Men in Blue must start planning for the next T20 World Cup and, with Rohit already 35, there is no point in carrying on with him as captain in the format.
Team India’s T20 World Cup 2022 campaign came to a screeching halt as they were thumped by England by 10 wickets. Chasing 169, the Englishmen got home in 16 overs as Alex Hales (86* off 47) and Jos Buttler (80* off 49) pounded the Indian bowlers.
Reflecting on India’s insipid performance, Wassan agreed to the suggestion that the time has come to move on from Rohit as captain in T20Is. During a discussion on ABP Live, he opined:
“Rohit Sharma’s time as captain seems over. You always plan from World Cup to World Cup. I don’t think India will gain anything by continuing with him as captain. I don’t think we will get any returns on this investment.
"He can stay in the team for the transition period. But India have three to four candidates as replacements in front of them. Hardik Pandya is one. Rishabh Pant is also one to consider in the future.”
The next edition of the T20 World Cup will be played in West Indies and the United States in 2024.
“Seemed like we batted in Adelaide and England in Sharjah” - Atul Wassan on Team India’s performance
While the bowlers failed to pick up a single England scalp in the semi-final, Wassan also expressed disappointment at India’s batting performance.
According to him, Rohit and Co. might have misjudged how good the wicket was for batting. He said:
“I am still in shock. This all seems like a bad dream to me. I never thought that the match would be so one-sided. It almost seemed like we batted in Adelaide and England batted in Sharjah. In hindsight, England bowled really well, and perhaps our initial batters misread the wicket.”
Sent in to bat after losing the toss, Team India were in trouble at 75/3 in the 12th over. Hardik Pandya (63 off 33) and Virat Kohli (50 off 40) lifted the Men in Blue to 168/6. However, the total proved inadequate as England’s openers ran amok.