Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal has asked India skipper Rohit Sharma to have a presence like Virat Kohli on the field.
Rohit will lead the Indian Test and ODI teams on the tour of West Indies, slated to get underway on July 12.
Speaking on his Youtube channel, Akmal said Rohit needs to lift up his game in the longest format and should have a presence like Kohli on the field.
Rohit registered scores of 15 and 43 in India’s crushing 209-run defeat at the hands of Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final at The Oval earlier this month.
“India will have to play well in both Test matches against West Indies. There has to be a lot of passion. It will be important for them to start well. Rohit Sharma will have to improve. His presence on the ground should be like Virat Kohli,” Kamran Akmal stated.
He went on hail Kohli as an all-time great, insisting that the young players picked for the West Indies tour will learn from his approach and performances on the field.
“Virat Kohli is an all-time great. He is a brilliant performer. His hunger, his on-field presence, everything is top-class. He is the favorite player of all the players. A lot of cricketers get to learn a lot from his approach and performances. He is an automatic selection,” he added.
India's Test and ODI squad for the upcoming tour of West Indies was unveiled on Friday (June 23), with the selectors making major changes especially in the longest format.
Young batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad were picked in the Test squad but there was a notable omission in Sarfaraz Khan, who has been a prolific scorer in the Ranji Trophy for the last three seasons.
Akmal opined that this was the best chance for India to pick Sarfaraz in the Test squad.
“From what I have seen, Sarfaraz Khan has performed very well in domestic cricket. While I don't think he should have featured in the playing XI, he should have been added to the squad. It would have been a signal to him that he wasn't being ignored. This was the best chance to bring him in,” he remarked.
