T20 World Cup 2022: “Was Rohit Sharma ready for captaincy?” asks Shoaib Akhtar after India’s semi-final exit

Rohit Sharma failed to end India's ICC trophy drought as a captain.

Rohit Sharma | GettyTeam India endured another disappointing campaign in the ICC tournament as they bowed out of the ongoing T20 World Cup on Thursday (November 10).

The Men in Blue suffered a 10-wicket thrashing at the hands of England in the second semi-final at the Adelaide Oval.

After their humiliating ouster, Rohit Sharma and his men are garnering criticism from the fans, media and experts alike.

Amid the scrutiny, former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar weighed in on Rohit Sharma's captaincy before giving his verdict on whether he should continue as skipper.

See Also: Hurt by semi-final exit, Rohit Sharma couldn’t control his emotions in dressing room – Report

“Was he ready for the captaincy? I still haven't received an answer to this question. We all knew that he wanted to be the skipper. But this is not an easy task to do. You have to live and breathe captaincy and also have to sacrifice family life. That is why Rohit should be spending more time with the team which will help him in building the team as well. He just looked a bit depressed and off,” Akhtar said while speaking to Zee News.

“With captaincy comes responsibility. If the team performs, you get the credit but when you face criticisms, you don't point fingers at anyone. And Rohit Sharma's continuation, I won't be able to see that (mujhse dekha nehi jayegi). Because he is close to his retirement in T20 format. Kohli took so much of time just to realise that captaincy is now gone and that he needs to come of that phase. Yet he took breaks from the game and ten somehow, luckily, Pakistan were troubled by Kohli. Now he is in a good space. I think for Rohit Sharma, it has been too much to ask from him,” he added.

Notably, Rohit Sharma was handed India’s T20I captaincy last year after Virat Kohli stepped down from the post following the T20 World Cup 2021. Later on, Rohit was made India’s ODI and Test skippers as well, with Kohli getting sacked from the 50-over captaincy and quitting the leadership position in the longest format.

Since Rohit has led Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles, it was expected that he will end India’s ICC trophy. However, he failed to do it in his attempt as the Men in Blue faced another knockout-stage elimination.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 12 Nov, 2022

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