Rohit Sharma to play 2nd T20I against England? Virat Kohli gives update
India vs England: Rohit Sharma was rested in the first IND vs ENG T20I match. India was comprehensively beaten, outplayed and outfoxed in both the batting and bowling department. Jofra Archer’s pace and Mark Wood’s perfect line and length were too hot to handle for Virat Kohli’s men. As India’s openers failed, and the batting line-up fell like a house of cards, the focus shifted back to one player who wasn’t part of the team in the first T20I match; Rohit Sharma.
Rohit Sharma: Decision To Rest Sharma Backfired!
Rotational policy or whatever the reason was to opt against playing Rohit Sharma in the first ENG vs IND T20I match, it definitely backfired. The team management got it all wrong to rest the player of Sharma’s quality. The Mumbai Indians captain is in a rich vein of form, having led the scoring charts for India during the recently concluded India vs England Test Series. So it was baffling to see him warming the bench.
Then there’s a small matter of preparing for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will be held in India this year. Trying different combinations is alright, but changes and rotation shouldn’t come at the cost of the result.
IND vs ENG 2nd T20I: What Virat Kohli Said About Rohit Sharma’s Availability
Ahead of the first T20I match, every cricket expert and the rumours were suggesting that Rohit Sharma was likely to partner KL Rahul at the top, along with Suryakumar Yadav’s spot in India playing 11. But Sharma’s name was missing from the first team, with Shikhar Dhawan named in the final starting XI instead. Virat Kohli then gave the update on Rohit Sharma’s exclusion:
“Probably would have bowled first as well. Dew is going to be a massive factor in the second half. Got to get into the game with the ball and restrict them to a chaseable score. We were planning to do things like batting first in these conditions where bowling in the dew becomes a factor. It’s a good way to prepare for the World Cup. The next few months wiill be important from a team environment. Rohit is resting for the first couple of games.”
The pressure is mounting on Virat Kohli and the team management ahead of the 2nd T20I match. India can ill afford to go down 0-2 down in the series against England. It can be all downhill form here on for Team India, while the psychological blow can be a big factor in the T20 World Cup.
