T20 World Cup 2022: “He is too good a player to miss out” - Salman Butt urges Team India star to lift his game

India v South Africa - ICC Men
Team India have won three of their four Super 12 matches. Pic: Getty Images

Former Pakistan opener Salman Butt has opined that Team India captain Rohit Sharma is not doing justice to his potential by putting up inconsistent performances in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Urging the Indian opener to lift his game, Butt stated that he is too good a player to be failing so often.

The Men in Blue are having an impressive T20 World Cup 2022 campaign. Having played four Super 12 matches so far, they have won three and are on top of the points table in Group 2 with six points and a net run rate of +0.730. Their only defeat in the competition came against South Africa in Perth, a much-hyped match, which they lost by five wickets.

While the side has been doing well, Team India skipper Rohit has had a forgettable run with the bat. He has registered scores of four, 53, 15, and two. Even the half-century he scored against the Netherlands was a chancy innings, during which he enjoyed a lot of luck.

Sharing his thoughts on Rohit’s poor performance with the willow in the T20 World Cup 2022, Butt said while speaking on his YouTube channel:

“Rohit Sharma needs to play big knocks consistently. He is too good a player to miss out 2-3 times in the tournament.”

The Indian captain’s struggles with the bat are not restricted to just the ongoing World Cup. Since the start of 2022, Rohit has featured in 27 T20Is, scoring 614 runs at a poor average of 24.56.


“Suryakumar fully deserves the No.1 ranking” - Butt

While expressing disappointment over Rohit’s lack of consistency, Butt hailed Suryakumar Yadav and congratulated him for becoming the number one batter in the official T20I rankings.

Stating that Suryakumar fully deserves the honor, the former Pakistan captain commented:

“Suryakumar fully deserves the No.1 ranking the way he has been batting under tough conditions.”

Picking Suryakumar's knock against South Africa in the ongoing World Cup for special praise, the 38-year-old stated:

“His innings against South Africa in Perth came on the most difficult pitch and against a very tough bowling attack. Even as the top order with big names got out, he stood there like a champion. That has been the highlight of his batting so far.”

Suryakumar has smashed 164 runs in four innings in the T20 World Cup 2022 at an average of 54.67 and an exceptional strike rate of 180.22.

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