Shoaib Akhtar not impressed with Rohit Sharma's captaincy in Asia Cup
Highlighting the major issues in Rohit's captaincy, the former Pakistan pacer remarked: "Rohit Sharma looks very uncomfortable; he is seen shouting on the field. India brought in Ashwin and dropped Bishnoi, which shows there is uncertainty in the camp. This is a really good wake-up call for India, coming before the World Cup."
After starting the Asia Cup 2022 on an emphatic note, Rohit Sharma-led Team India endured a major setback in the Super 4 stage of the tournament. The Men in Blue suffered consecutive defeats - the first against Pakistan by five wickets, and the other by six wickets against Sri Lanka. And after Pakistan edged past Afghanistan in a last-over thriller, the Rohit Sharma-led side was knocked out of the tournament as Sri Lanka and Pakistan advanced to the final.
The results have posed a serious question on India's preparation for the T20 World Cup, which will be played in Australia later this year. Many have pointed fingers at the senior pros - Rohit and Virat Kohli - and the latest to join the bandwagon is Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar.
The Rawalpindi Express was not impressed with Rohit's leadership in the tournament, particularly his animated reactions during the course of the matches. He also stated that Rohit needs to sharpen his captaincy going forward.
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Akhtar shared his views on a video shared on his YouTube channel. Highlighting the major issues in Rohit's captaincy, the former Pakistan pacer remarked: "Rohit Sharma looks very uncomfortable; he is seen shouting on the field. India brought in Ashwin and dropped Bishnoi, which shows there is uncertainty in the camp. This is a really good wake-up call for India, coming before the World Cup."
India did make a lot of reshuffle in their playing XI during the course of the tournament. The Men In Blue started things with Dinesh Karthik as the finisher but were forced to switch to Rishabh Pant after Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.
Ravi Bishnoi, who had a decent outing in the Super 4 encounter against Pakistan was dropped from the playing XI, with R Ashwin replacing him in the clash against Sri Lanka.
Speaking further on India's overall campaign, Akhtar said that the Men In Blue didn't play badly but believes the outing to be a good wake up call before the showpiece event in Australia.
"I do not think India played very poorly; they did not play well, that is a fact, but there is a rise after every fall, and this fall might help them in the World Cup. India should not be disheartened, but they should learn from this. They should find their final playing XI. Rohit Sharma has to sharpen up his captaincy as well," he added.
