T20 World Cup 2022: “At least put up a fight”- Virender Sehwag slams Rohit Sharma and Co. for not playing fearless cricket

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag has slammed the Rohit Sharma-led Indian batting unit for not playing an aggressive brand of cricket in their T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Adelaide on Thursday (November 10). He said that the Indian batters didn’t score enough runs or challenge England's bowling unit.

KL Rahul once again departed cheaply against a crucial team in the tournament. Rohit Sharma also failed to step up in the semi-final, scoring 27 off 28 balls. Suryakumar Yadav too had an off day.

Virat Kohli’s 50 off 40 balls and Hardik Pandya’s 63 off 33 deliveries helped India set a target of 169 against England in the crunch game.

In reply, the bowling unit also failed to deliver as Jos Butter and Alex Hales put on a show to guide England to a 10-wicket win.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Sehwag said:

“Faces were down when they came out to bat. No one could play fearless cricket. You'll eventually get out, so at least create fear in the opposition. Fearless cricket was missing. When you lose, do it in the right spirit, or at least put up a fight.”

He added:

“It was batting favoring wicket, but we didn't give enough runs to our bowlers. If they had scored more, something might have happened.”

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“Same faces, nothing has changed, and the approach was similar” – Virender Sehwag after India’s T20 World Cup exit

Sehwag also mentioned that there was no big difference in Team India for the last two T20 World Cups. He said that only Kohli score in crunch matches for the Men in Blue while hinting at some changes in India’s T20I setup for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

“2:42 - They lost to Pakistan by 10 wickets in the last T20 World Cup. They were quite vocal about bringing in some changes, but there were only one or two changes. Same faces, nothing has changed, and the approach was similar. Only Virat Kohli used to score the runs, and we would score around 150-160. Today, Hardik performed, so they reached 168.”

Team India batters in T20 World Cup

Virat Kohli – 296 runs in six games

Suryakumar Yadav – 239 runs in six games

Rohit Sharma – 116 runs in six games

KL Rahul – 128 runs in six matches

The Men in Blue will next be in action in New Zealand during the white-ball series. They are scheduled to play three T20Is and as many ODIs, starting in Wellington on Friday (November 18). Several senior players, including Kohli and Rohit, have been rested for the series.

Team India will also play three ODIs and two Tests against Bangladesh in December.