After Sunil Gavaskar launched a scathing attack on Rohit Sharma by highlighting his shortcomings as a captain, legendary Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has come out in support of the veteran Indian opener. A lot was expected from Rohit when the senior batter succeeded Virat Kohli as India’s all-format captain. Under Rohit’s leadership, India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but the Asian giants failed to outclass the same opponent in an ICC final.
Rohit and Co. were outplayed by Pat Cummins’ Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship last month. Before India’s heartbreaking defeat to Australia, Rohit’s men were crushed by England in the semi-final of the ICC World T20 last year. Talking about Rohit’s ongoing captaincy stint, legendary spinner Harbhajan observed that it is unfair to only target Rohit for India’s performance in the WTC final.
The former India cricketer also reminded Rohit’s critics that the veteran batter commands a lot of respect in the Indian dressing room. “I find that people are going a bit overboard… the way Rohit has been criticised. Cricket is a team sport and one individual cannot take you from one place to other. Team India didn’t do well in WTC final, and yes, you talk about that performance and move on from there. But it is unfair to criticise Rohit alone, that he is not scoring runs, putting on weight, not captaining well. I think he is a brilliant leader,” Harbhajan told news agency PTI.
Rohit’s former India and Mumbai Indians (MI) teammate also backed the India captain to deliver the goods in the upcoming assignments. Rohit’s Team India has arrived in the Caribbean for their multi-format tour. India will kickstart its WTC campaign against the West Indies with the two-match Test series. “He will come good and we need to show faith in him and we need to support him rather than pinpointing that you are not doing this or that,” said Harbhajan, who played 103 Tests for the Asian giants.
