“There’s A Room For Improvement’ – Dinesh Karthik’s Honest Review Of Rohit Sharma’s Captaincy

Rohit Sharma and Co. were able to level the five-match Test series against England and won the second Test match by 106 runs in Visakhapatnam. Rohit showcased a brilliant display of captaincy and made some wise decisions throughout the match. Sharma was also brilliant in taking up the DRS calls due to which India were able to overturn some decisions during the Vizag Test match.

However, Rohit Sharma was not able to score many runs with the bat and failed to convert his starts into big scores. Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik while speaking to Cricbuzz gave his opinion regarding Rohit’s captaincy throughout the match.

In a conversation with Harsha Bhogle, Karthik stated that the Rohit did much better than he did in Hyderabad. He said that Rohit Sharma handled his players well, he was setting up the field and also he kept on telling the bowlers what lengths to bowl at what stages. Karthik stated that India were slow in their overate but England kept on hustling between the wickets, and that is something India shall address.

Dinesh Karthik’s honest captaincy review of Rohit Sharma

Dinesh Karthik said, “I thought he was much much better than what he did in Hyderabad. In terms of captaincy, in terms of how he handles his players, it was a day when you had to show empathy towards the players but also want to bring the best out of them. You have a job to do here and I think in Hyderabad at times he was a bit lacking a dazzle with his approach.”

He added, “I love people who do what they are comfortable with but in this game, I could see a lot of times he was setting the field and also told bowlers to bowl what was required at that stage. He was making sure that everyone was as much on their toes as it would be in a short duration. That is something India needs, we saw how England hustled between the wickets, and this comes a lot more naturally to them. India bowling rates were very slow because of how they walk in between and in return it reduces the energy and also the buzz that is required to increase the momentum towards your favour.”

Dinesh Karthik further added that Rohit Sharma handled the smaller things of the match well. However, he stated that Rohit missed some tricks with the bowling changes like Mukesh Kumar bowling in the second innings and he also felt that Kuldeep Yadav was brought into the attack early. In the end, Karthik stated that there is room for improvement for Rohit Sharma.

He said, “I thought Rohit handled those smaller things really well. With regard to bowling changes, I did think a couple of times he did miss a trick. Bowling Mukesh Kumar in the second innings was an area, Kuldeep being brought early, but these are the things which can always be changed or handled. What Rohit thinks is always leadership skills is what we all should be okay with, definitely the energy and the buzz required in Test cricket all five days they are on the field, that is non-negotiable and that aspect I think he did much better but there is a room for improvement.”

The third Test match of the series will be played from February 15, 2024.