Rohit Sharma under fire after India’s struggles in Melbourne; ex-BCCI selector says ‘Captain has a direct impact’

Captain Rohit Sharma has had a poor run with the bat in the Border Gavaskar Trophy and the veteran opener hasn't lived up to his name in the tournament so far. Rohit's lack of form has led to many questions being asked about his contribution to the team, both with the bat and as captain.

Former India chief selector MSK Prasad, commentating on the Melbourne Test, questioned Rohit's 'oridnary' run with the bat and his captaincy tactics. Prasad also drew a link between the captain's individual performance and the team's performance.

MSK Prasad rips into Rohit Sharma:

Speaking on commentary on Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test, Prasad said, “His batting has been ordinary since the Test series against New Zealand, and he landed in Australia with no form under his belt. If you look at the last two series we won in Australia, Virat Kohli led from the front on the first occasion. When we were bowled out for 36 in Adelaide in the last series, Ajinkya Rahane revived the team with a brilliant hundred at the Melbourne Cricket Ground,”

“Captaincy has a direct impact on the performance of the team. Unfortunately, Rohit hasn’t been proactive and is struggling. When Sam Konstas was blazing all guns, he continued with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for 11 overs instead of turning to someone else.” the former chief selector added.

Rohit Sharma's struggle in Test cricket:

The Indian captain has had a particularly tough time in recent series. Rohit scored 42 runs in four innings against Bangladesh and 91 runs in the 3-match series against New Zealand. In the current series, Rohit has scored just 22 runs in four innings so far.

Rohit returned to the opening position during the 1st innings of the 4th Test between India and Australia, but failed to regain his mojo and was eventually dismissed for 3.