Amid Rohit Sharma’s retirement rumours, India national cricket team batting coach Sitanshu Kotak backed the veteran opener after India vs England 2.Ra ODI match in Cardiff. Kotak felt that the former India captain might soon get back his normal batting style.
In the two back-to-back matches against England, Rohit was out of form as he managed only 11 and 26 runs respectively in the first and second ODI of the ongoing series. Rohit Sharma’s poor form ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup has emerged as a matter of concern.
Rohit Sharma faced a disappointing performance in Cardiff
In the second ODI on July 16, where England defeated India by 4 wickets with 35 balls remaining with the help of Joe Root’s unbeaten 99 runs, Rohit returned to the pavilion after scoring only 26 runs on 47 balls. During the powerplay, the 39-year-old struggled to find the right space between bat and ball.
The Cardiff pitch was not entirely for the batsmen; There was plenty for the seamers too. So, whether it was Joe Root or Virat Kohli (65 off 66) who batted according to the conditions, they had to work hard for every run in the game.
Rohit Sharma took his time to settle down on the track and then was dismissed by Will Jacques while trying to play a brilliant sweep shot.
Team India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has supported Rohit Sharma.
After the match, Indian batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said that there was no extra pressure on Rohit. Considering his stature, Kotak said that one or two tremendous innings will not be enough to assess a batsman like Rohit Sharma.
“I don’t think a big player like Rohit can feel the pressure,” Kotak said in the press conference after the match.
He said, “He is too good a player to feel like that. Yes, he has not scored in two matches. I don’t think it makes any difference. But even today it felt like he would get a good innings, but it is okay[that he did not get a big score]. “[thathedidn’tgetabigscore”headed[किउन्हेंबड़ास्कोरनहींमिला।”[thathedidn’tgetabigscore”headded
Kotak also stressed that the opening batsman may soon make a comeback to scoring runs. Perhaps in the Lord’s match, where India and England will face each other for the third and final match of the series, Rohit can be at his best.
Team India’s batting coach said, “At Lord’s you may have seen a completely different innings from Rohit. I wouldn’t use the word struggle, but maybe the shots he usually plays upwards, which tend to result in double bounce, maybe he felt it was not comfortable.”
Sitanshu Kotak did not want to say that Rohit Sharma is struggling
Kotak did not want to say that Rohit was struggling, as ups and downs are all part of a batsman’s career. Hence, the coach supported the former captain, who is rumored to be retiring after the Lord’s match on Sunday, and said that the batsman can revive his form in Indian colors soon.
“You can definitely see completely different innings from a player like Rohit and I have seen that happen with many batsmen. So it is not just Rohit. I wouldn’t use the word that he was struggling,” Kotak told reporters.