“Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli responsible”: Former cricketers blame two senior players for Team India’s three collapses in New Zealand series
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been ordinary in the ongoing three-Test series against New Zealand. Aakash Chopra and Pragyan Ojha hit out at the two-star batters for failing to play responsible innings.
Rohit scored 2, 52, and 0 in three innings, while Virat accumulated 0, 70, and 1. The Men in Blue were dismissed for 46 in the first innings of the opening Test. In the second essay, the home team posted 462, but there was another collapse after Sarfaraz Khan (150) and Rishabh Pant (99) were dismissed.
The team managed just 156 in the first innings of the Pune Test.
“You need your senior players to perform well and lead from the front. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should score runs considering the make-up of the batting line-up. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan, and Rishabh Pant are still young and need support. Virat and Rohit haven’t been at their best, and the two have let the team down,” Aakash Chopra said.
Pragyan Ojha agreed with Aakash. “Rohit and Virat deserve some blame. They haven’t been among runs. I know Rohit and Virat scored fifties in the second innings in Bengaluru, but they couldn’t carry on. Even in Pune, the two once again failed. You need your experienced hands to lead the batting,” Pragyan Ojha said.
New Zealand scored 259 in their first essay, while the visitors scored 198/5 in their second chance. With three days left, the overall lead has touched the 301-run mark.
For India, Washington Sundar has taken 11 wickets so far. Mitchell Santner was New Zealand’s top wicker-keeper, amassing seven scalps.
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