Indian batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has supported the Indian veteran opening batter Rohit Sharma amid his poor form in the ongoing three-match ODI series against England, which is currently levelled 1-1.
Speaking at the post-match press conference after India’s four-wicket defeat in Cardiff, Kotak stated that Rohit Sharma doesn’t feel pressure, adding that he would be aiming for a big innings at Lord’s on Sunday.
“I don’t think that a player as big as Rohit (Sharma) can feel any pressure. He’s too good a player to feel that. Yes, he didn’t get runs. I don’t think that makes any difference. Today, it also looked like he’ll probably get a good innings out. But that’s okay,” Kotak said in the post-match press conference.
“I have played a lot of cricket, and I have seen a lot of cricket. On a day, there are a lot of batters who don’t get the momentum they are looking for, and that can happen. You might see a completely different innings from Rohit Sharma at Lord’s. So, I wouldn’t use the word “struggling”. Maybe the shots he normally plays on the up, because of the double bounce, he probably felt they were not comfortable,” he added.
In the second ODI, Rohit could score only 26 runs off 43 balls before Will Jacks dismissed him. On the other hand, in the first ODI, he could rack up only 11 runs off 21 balls before Sam Curran dismissed him.
“Shubman (Gill) got a quick start, then Virat got a quick start, but Rohit probably didn’t get balls in his areas or didn’t get going. That’s what I felt. So I wouldn’t say he was struggling because you could definitely see a completely different innings from a player like Rohit. I have seen that happen to a lot of batters. So it’s not just Rohit. I wouldn’t use the word “struggling,” he noted.
In the second ODI, India posted only 233 runs in 44 overs after being tasked to bat first. Virat Kohli (65) and Shreyas Iyer (66) were the top scorers. Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson scalped three wickets each.
In the second innings, England crossed the winning line in 44.1 overs with four wickets in hand. Joe Root was the top batter with his unbeaten 99-run knock off 133 balls.
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