Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has questioned Indian team management’s decision to demote Rohit Sharma for the young Ishan Kishan after the team’s 8-wicket defeat against New Zealand in their second Super 12s contest in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.
On Sunday, October 31, in Dubai, KL Rahul (18) and Ishan (4) opened the innings for India while the experienced Rohit Sharma came to bat at No.3 and score 14 runs off 14 balls, as they could post only 110/7 on the board against New Zealand in Dubai.
However, none of the Indian batters could cross the 20-run mark, except Hardik Pandya (23) and Ravindra Jadeja (26*), but Gambhir wasn’t really happy with the team management's decision to demote Rohit for the high-profile clash against New Zealand.
Following India’s second consecutive defeat in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday; Gambhir said that Rohit should have opened the innings for the Men in Blue against the Black Caps in Dubai, saying the decision reflects the negative thinking of the team management.
Gambhir said on ESPNCricinfo, “If you expect Ishan Kishan to do something that Rohit Sharma can't then there are issues and it's the wrong mindset. If you are thinking that Ishan Kishan will give you a flying start of 60 runs in the first six overs and then Virat and Rohit can come and milk it, it is wrong because we haven't seen a better white-ball cricketer than Rohit Sharma. The player has four T20I hundreds and you are still batting him at No.3 then it's negative thinking.”
Notably, India’s chances for the semi-finals were dented by their two consecutive defeats in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021. They will next face Afghanistan in the tournament on November 3.
