Rohit Sharma's 3 biggest struggles as India captain so far

When Rohit Sharma took over as Team India’s full-time captain, fans as well as critics and former players had high hopes for him. After all, he had led the Mumbai Indians (MI) to five title triumphs in the Indian Premier League (IPL). His calm and composed captaincy in the T20 competition won him a lot of admirers.

Rohit’s stint as Indian captain began on an impressive note, with some thumping wins at home. However, over the last few months, he has found the going very tough. The Men in Blue’s struggles in multi-nation events continued as India failed to lift the Asia Cup in the UAE. They were subsequently knocked out of the T20 World Cup in Australia, going down to England by 10 wickets in the semi-finals.

Rohit’s captaincy tenure experienced another setback as Team India went down to Bangladesh by one wicket in the first ODI in Dhaka on Sunday, December 4. Bangladesh were 136/9 in their chase of 187. However, the last-wicket pair added an unbroken 51 to take the hosts home, stunning Team India.

In the wake of India’s shocking loss in Dhaka, we analyze three areas where Rohit has struggled as a leader.

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#1 Too much confusion over team selection

KL Rahul kept wickets in the Dhaka ODI. Pic: Getty Images

This is becoming a bit of an embarrassment now. Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid seem to be unsure of their best playing XI. The lack of clarity is definitely hurting their fortunes.

Throughout the T20 World Cup in Australia, there was a debate over whether Dinesh Karthik or Rishabh Pant should be the team’s frontline keeper-batter.

The Men in Blue leadership backed Karthik for the majority of the Super 12 stage. However, towards the end, they moved to Pant and went with him for the semi-final clash as well, even though he hadn’t displayed any good batting form. Whenever asked about who the No. 1 keeper was, Rohit never gave a direct reply, sticking to the “everyone is in the fray” defense.

Team India’s decision to play Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel over Yuzvendra Chahal in the T20 World Cup also raised a lot of eyebrows. In a tournament where leg-spinners had a significant impact, India did play Chahal in a single game.

The confusing selection continued in the Dhaka ODI. The Men in Blue released Pant and went with KL Rahul as the makeshift keeper. Rahul top-scored with 73 for India, but the ploy to give him the gloves backfired. He dropped a crucial catch of Mehidy Hasan Miraz, which would have sealed the game for the visitors.

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#2 Lack of batting form

Rohit Sharma has been battling poor form for a while now. Pic: Getty Images

The lack of batting form has hurt Rohit for a while now. When the captain himself is struggling, it becomes very difficult for him to lead from the front. Often, his inspirational talk can also seem hollow as the leader himself is unable to deliver. Rohit’s lack of form is impacting Team India’s fortunes in a big way.

In seven ODIs since taking over as India’s full-time captain, the 35-year-old has scored 198 runs at an average of 33. In his last three ODI knocks, he has registered scores of 0, 17, and 27.

In 32 T20Is as captain, Rohit has managed 815 runs at an average of 27.16. Since the half-century against Sri Lanka in Dubai in September, he has only one 50-plus score in 12 T20Is, which came against the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup.

It’s not just his form, but his lack of fluency that is an equally big worry. Despite spending time at the crease, he has not looked in control in most of his recent knocks. That is something you don’t associate with Rohit, who is known for his eloquence with the willow when he is at his best.

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#3 Tactical blunders on the field

The Indian captain has faltered tactically on a few occasions. Pic: Getty Images

Rohit’s tactical decisions have also not gone down well with a lot of critics. Of course, it is always easy to pick flaws in hindsight. But in the Indian captain’s case, it can be said that he is giving bashers ample ammunition to have a go at him.

In Dhaka, Rohit did not turn to off-spinner Washington Sundar even though he was one of the team’s best bowlers on the day. Sundar had dismissed Bangladesh’s two key and set batters in skipper Litton Das (41) and Shakib Al Hasan (29). He had impressive figures of 2/17 after five overs. However, Rohit did not turn to Sundar after the 26th over of Bangladesh’s innings.

Even when the last-wicket pair were frustrating Team India and getting easy runs, Rohit did not turn to Sundar. Bangladesh had a left-hander in tailender Mustafizur Rahman at the crease and Sundar could have troubled the No.11 batter. But the Indian captain kept bowling pacers Deepak Chahar and Kuldeep Sen, who were taken for key boundaries as the match slipped out of India’s grasp.

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