File image of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.© AFP
India captain Rohit Sharma's youth coach Dinesh Lad has suggested that the opening batsman should play a few domestic matches to prepare for Test cricket after his dismal form in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. India lost the five-Test series 3-1 and missed out on a third consecutive spot in the final of the World Test Championship. Rohit, who missed the first Test of the series due to the birth of his second child, failed to score beyond 10 runs over the next five innings before opting to rest in the fifth Test at Sydney Cricket Ground. He collected only 31 runs in five innings of the series and came under public scrutiny for his subpar performances.
Moreover, former cricketers and the media also questioned his leadership qualities, causing India to lose the chance to win the ICC major in red ball cricket.
Dinesh Lad emphasized that after winning the T20 World Cup last year, Rohit's priorities were to win the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup. But after the Australia debacle, the coach said Rohit should concentrate on playing domestic cricket before playing Test cricket.
“I think Rohit has only two goals: first to win the World Test Championship and second to win the ODI World Cup. If he had wanted, he could have retired from all formats (after the T20 World Cup title) but he only retired from T20 cricket .He is not the only cricketer who is struggling to score runs. He should play one or two domestic matches to prepare for Test matches,” Dinesh Lad told IANS.
“T20 cricket has changed the mentality of the batsmen. He is a technically good cricketer and last year he scored good runs against England. When we win, people call Rohit the best captain, but when we lose, people say he don't know the captaincy,” the Dronacharya winner added.
After the tough patch in Test cricket, Rohit will next gear up for the white-ball challenge against England before the Champions Trophy. India will host five T20Is and three ODIs for England from January 22.
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