Rahul’s captaincy has come under the scanner after India’s ODI series loss against South Africa.
In the absence of injured Rohit Sharma, Rahul got the opportunity to lead India in the three-ODI series against South Africa but the latter failed to make a mark with his tactics.
Ahead of the dead-rubber third ODI, former India cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra said Rahul's captaincy has room for a lot of improvement, adding that South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma was far superior tactically.
"Work in progress. I say that because it might be unfair to compare him with Temba Bavuma but I can't help myself because when you see Temba, he is also not someone who has led South Africa in ODI cricket for long. He is also a young captain in this format," Chopra told Star Sports.
"You saw him tactically superior. He was trying to break the game open from time to time. He was attacking with Tabraiz Shamsi. After the drinks break, he got his strike bowler back. He started with a spinner and sometimes didn't. It looked a little more proactive," he added.
"On the other hand, R Ashwin and Yuzcvendra Chahal bowled only 4 overs in tandem in the 2nd ODI. 2 at the beginning and 2 when the game was already lost," he further said.
Aakash Chopra also opined that the time has come for the Indian team to overhaul their bowling attack.
Just like the first ODI, the visiting bowling attack looked toothless in the second ODI as they failed to defend 287 runs. Barring Jasprit Bumrah (1-37), no bowler managed to trouble the host batters.
"Looking very flat (blowing unit). The writing is on the wall that the bowling unit needs a shakeup. When you look at the bowling unit, you don't have too many wicket-takers and if you don't have wicket-takers, you can't control an ODI game," he remarked.
The third and final ODI will be played in Cape Town on Sunday (January 23).