Former India captain Kapil Dev has attacked the current India captain, Rohit Sharma, for his recent concerning form.
During the IPL 2022, the Mumbai Indians captain hit a low, scoring only 268 runs at a dismal average of 19 and a lowly strike rate of 120 without a single half-century; his own form mirroring that of his team as the five-time champions finished last in the points table for the first time.
You cannot go too far based on reputation: Kapil Dev
A gruelling and long international season awaits India and their superstar captain. After the England tour, India face West Indies before competing in the Asia Cup, followed by the T20 World Cup in Australia where once again India will be expected to do better than their group-stage exit last year in the UAE.
To have success in these series, the Men In Blue will want their skipper to step up big time with the bat and shrug off his recent poor form. Kapil Dev, frustratingly, wondered whether Rohit has even lost the enjoyment of the playing the game.
“The player (Rohit) is brilliant, no question about that. But if you don’t score a fifty in 14 matches, questions will be raised, be it Gary Sobers, Don Bradman, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar or Viv Richards. Only Rohit can answer that what’s happening. Is it too much (cricket) or has he stopped enjoying it?” Kapil Dev said during a discussion on the YouTube channel ‘UnCut’.
Rohit, and Virat Kohli, too, who struggled for the majority of the IPL, cannot go too far only based on their reputations, asserted the 1983 World Cup-winning captain.
“You have to score runs (to get back in form). You cannot go too far based on reputation alone. Eventually, the opportunities will get dried up. How many chances would you need after 14 games?,” the legendary all-rounder further said.
Rohit and Kohli got off to starts in the four-day warm-up match vs Leicestershire but both failed to convert it; Rohit scored 25 while Kohli scored 33.
