Amid the ongoing India versus New Zealand ODI series, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif has highlighted that veteran opener Rohit Sharma repeatedly gets dismissed by "in-between length" deliveries during the first over.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif noted that Rohit’s tendency to play without decisive footwork against new-ball movement remains a persistent vulnerability.

The analysis followed Rohit's golden duck in the fourth ODI at Mount Maunganui, where he was squared up by extra bounce and away movement from a good-length Matt Henry delivery and edged to first slip.

Across three innings in the five-ODI series against New Zealand, Rohit has managed only 23 runs, including two ducks in the first and penultimate fixtures.

"This happens very often with Rohit Sharma. He has had a good year. But his feet were planted on a pitch where there was movement on offer. The ball was on the shorter side compared to the deliveries faced by Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, and Shreyas Iyer. He did not go completely back nor commit forward. He played without moving his feet. Throughout his career, irrespective of the format, he has been dismissed many times by that in-between length in the first over," Kaif said.

Despite the lean patch, Rohit Sharma has bounced back strongly in similar bilateral scenarios earlier this year, having scored centuries against both England and the West Indies.

With India leading the five-match series 2-1, the fifth and final ODI on Sunday (November 15) offers Rohit a crucial opportunity to address this technical issue and regain form as preparations continue for the 2027 World Cup.

On a separate note, Kaif criticized senior pacer Mohammed Siraj’s continued absence from India’s ODI XI on the tour of New Zealand.

"It is a bit of a surprise that a bowler like Mohammed Siraj is part of the squad but is not playing. In the first ODI, we thought he was being rested to recover after playing red-ball cricket. He has not played since then either," Kaif stated.

"Nabi, Anshul Kamboj, or even Gurnoor Brar need some help from the pitch. Nabi got the ball to move in overcast conditions in the first two ODIs. But when the sun is shining and conditions are better for batting, he still needs to learn a bit more. You have a well-trained player in Siraj, who has grown up playing in flat conditions," he further remarked.