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Team India captain Rohit Sharma continued his poor run of form as India kickstarted the three-match ODI series against England at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday, February 6. Although, the result ended in the favour of the hosts way as they defeated England to go 1-0 up in the series, skipper Rohit Sharma fell after scoring two off seven deliveries.
Seeing this, former India international and a veteran all-rounder, Ravichandran Ashwin also threw light on Rohit’s form. He opined that people will continue to ask questions if a cricketer doesn’t perform and the only way to shut this with the bat. Earlier, ahead of the series opener, Rohit Sharma lost his cool when a reporter asked him if he was comfortable returning to white-ball cricket from red-ball cricket.
You can't stop these questions: R Ashwin reacts after Rohit Sharma’s outburst ahead of first ODI
While the 37-year-old had dropped himself from the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, he made a return to the XI in the first ODI which saw him return to the format after over five months. However, Rohit was visibly irked by the reporter’s question, Ashwin opined that these kind of queries will keep coming until he performs.
Speaking on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’, Ashwin said, "This is not easy. If you look at it from Rohit's POV, then obviously, it is frustrating for him. He wants to concentrate on the series. He thinks that I've done well in this format, and I'd like to continue. I'm going into the tournament with a lot of confidence on the back of the one-day tournaments that I've played. But people will ask questions.”
“The ones who are watching will obviously ask. It's a catch-22 situation. You can't stop these questions. When will they stop? When he performs. But as a cricketer, I understand what Rohit is going through. It's not easy. I pray that he does well and scores a century in this series," he added.
Notably, as of writing, the Indian skipper has managed just 166 runs in his 16 recent knocks across formats. He will return to action in the second ODI, set to be played at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday, February 9.
