'How on earth...' - Former England player criticises Rohit Sharma for his dismissal

Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 14 off 41 balls and did not hit a single boundary.
 By Staff Writer Updated: Feb 2, 2024, 15:06 IST
Rohit Sharma 2nd Test?width=963&height=541&resizemode=4
Rohit Sharma was out to debutant Shoaib Bashir for his first international wicket.

Rohit Sharma failed to convert another start into a big one as he was dismissed by the debutant Shoaib Bashir in the first session of the second Test against England.

This was the third consecutive time in the series where Rohit got a start but failed to score a big one. The Indian skipper looked to bide his time out in the middle rather than playing his natural attacking style. He did not hit any boundary in his innings of 14 from 41 balls.

But in the 18th over of the match, Rohit was caught at leg slip by Ollie Pope off the bowling of Bashir, who picked up his maiden international wicket.

Kevin Pietersen criticises Rohit Sharma

Rohit’s defensive approach did not go down well with former England captain Kevin Pietersen who stated that the pitch neither tilted much towards spin nor pace and that there were “plenty” of runs on offer. He also stated that Rohit would be kicking himself at not taking the opportunity to put runs on the board on a flat deck.

“It doesn't matter who you get out to, you can get out to anybody. I think he'd be kicking himself because there were plenty of runs to be had here. On this wicket, against a very young and inexperienced bowling attack, he will be looking at his dismissal and thinking, 'How on earth did I get myself out here?” Pietersen told Jio Cinema during his commentary stint.

“That (the dismissal) was quite lazy. Yes, it is instinctive to knock the ball towards the leg side. But there was no urgency in what led to the dismissal. There was no urgency to try and get off the strike. These guys are expansive from ball one in T20 cricket, they play so beautifully. We have not seen huge spin, massive bounce, or anything that should pose any fear in the batter's mind.” Pietersen further praised Shubman Gill for the intensity shown by him during his knock of 34 off 48 balls.

He mentioned that Gill showed intent which was missing in Rohit’s knock. “Gill played nicely, I thought. There was an intensity in him. There was a lack of intensity in Rohit; it looked like his innings was in slow motion,” Pietersen said.

Although Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill failed to convert their starts, Yashasvi Jaiswal notched up his second century in six Tests and looks set for a big score. Earlier, India won the toss and chose to bat on a good surface for batting. Rajat Patidar made a debut for India while Mukesh Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav replaced Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja respectively.

From around the web