Michael Vaughan slammed Rohit Sharma for not being proactive in leading India during the first Test against England in Hyderabad. Vaughan mentioned that Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was “average,” expressing his opinion that the Indian skipper appeared clueless when Ollie Pope was freely playing sweeps and reverse sweeps.
Michael Vaughan Slammed Rohit Sharma For His “Average Captaincy”
On January 28, Ollie Pope’s brilliant innings of 196 runs played a crucial role in England’s victory over the hosts by 28 runs in the first Test of the 5-match series. Despite getting out while attempting a reverse-scoop off Jasprit Bumrah, Pope had already made a significant impact.
In his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan wrote: “I thought Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was very, very average. I thought he was so reactive, I don’t think he manoeuvred his field or was proactive with his bowling changes. And he didn’t have any answer to Ollie Pope’s sweeps or reverse sweeps,”
Vaughan suggested that India should have altered their strategies when Pope and the English batters were comfortably handling their bowlers. He emphasized that Rohit should have set more aggressive fields and encouraged the English batters to take risks by going for aerial shots. He added:
“The greatest spinner I’ve seen, Shane Warne, would go around the wicket and get the player to sweep the leg side and say good luck trying to do that. I didn’t see that any of that from India.”
He added: “It was just all too easy. The way that England play, they will always score boundaries. And by spreading the field, Sharma was basically saying that his bowlers’ best balls would still go for one,”
To produce a knock like this in the third inns of the game with your team well behind, and against this Indian attack.. no praise high enough for this 196 from Ollie Pope! Very well played 👏🏽 #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/88UB2cBvVZ
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) January 28, 2024
Ollie Pope, meanwhile, claimed the Player of the Match award as England handed India their first Test defeat in Hyderabad.
After England found themselves at 163 for 5 in their second innings, Pope and Ben Foakes built a crucial 112-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Pope was the last wicket to fall as England set a target of 231 for India to chase. The Three Lions successfully bowled out India for 202 in 69.2 overs to secure the historic victory.
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