‘Very Very Average’- England’s former captain blasts Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in the 1st Test at Hyderabad

Since India lost the first Test against England in  Hyderabad, they have been under fire for lacklustre performance on the field. After conceding a 190-run lead in the 1st innings, England still managed to pull off a 28-run win in the 1st Test, which has put the Indian captain under scathing criticism from all corners.

Under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, India has lost 2 out of their last three Test matches at home and managed to draw one which has put India’s sheer dominance at home in question. Before the series, there was much anticipation in the air on how India would tackle the ‘Bazball’ approach, which is not only an aggressive style of batting from England but also their aggressive mindset that does not fear their bold calls. 

Michael Vaughan questions Rohit Sharma’s captaincy tactics

While ‘Bazball’ has managed to make its mark in the 1st Test, it has left a question mark on Rohit Sharma’s captaincy prowess in Test cricket. According to former England captain Michael Vaughan, India missed the captaincy of Virat Kohli in the first test, and had he been the captain India wouldn’t have lost the match.

In his scathing remarks, Vaughan also said that Rohit Sharma is a reactive captain and has the strategic acumen to take wickets with proactive thinking and effective field positions. Speaking on a cricket podcast on YouTube called ‘Club Prairie Fire’ Vaugah said, “They missed Virat Kohli’s captaincy massively in Test cricket. Under Virat’s captaincy that week, India wouldn’t have lost the game. Rohit is a legend and a great player. But I felt he just switched off completely."

He further rated Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in the 1st test as ‘Very Very Average’ and said that his inability to counter Ollie Pope’s sweeps reverse sweeps and defensive field placements cost India the match.

England's former players gang up in unison against Rohit Sharma

Since England won the 1st test, the English media and their ex-cricketers have criticized the Indian team especially Rohit Sharma for his captaincy. While England’s Geoffrey Boycott has commented that Rohit Sharma as a batter has passed his prime, their former left-arm spinner Monty Panesar who played a pivotal role in England’s series victory in India went on to say that England will roll over India by 5-0 in the series.