Rohit had obviously already proved his credentials as a white ball captain in the IPL, captaining the Mumbai Indians to a record five titles. Rohit was expected to carry on this winning spree in India colors as well. Some expected near-immediate results and for him the end of India’s long wait to win an ICC trophy. India won their last ICC trophy way back in 2013 when MS Dhoni led the team to the ICC Champions Trophy title, beating England by 5 points at Edgbaston in the final.
Rohit led India for the first time in an ICC event at the T20 World Cup in Australia and led the team to the semifinals. But they could go no further, suffering an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat to England, who eventually won the title. By the high standards the Indian team and stewards set for themselves, this was not a successful run.
(Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
Ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup, India also had a disappointing Asian Cup match. They won only 1 match in Super 4 (against Afghanistan) and suffered 2 losses (against Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and were kicked out.
Former Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif believes it is too early to judge Rohit and his captaincy. Kaif also said that Rohit, who has over 16,000 international rides, should have a long line in terms of captaincy.
“Rohit is a good captain. It’s still very early for us to judge him as captain. We have to wait and see him in the next tournaments. The pressure is definitely on him because when he became captain, he was expected to win an ICC Trophy, which he was not managed to do,” Kaif said in response to a question from TimesofIndia. com during a media interaction.
Rohit Sharma’s performance as captain
| Format | m | w | L | T | NO |
| Test | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| YOU HATE | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| T20I | 51 | 39 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
With the upcoming edition of the ICC World Cup (50 overs) to be hosted by India next year, all eyes will once again be on Rohit and the brand of captaincy he brings to the table. The last time the ODI World Cup was played in India, the men in blue emerged champions (2011).
“Rohit has done a great job as captain, apart from the multi-nation tournaments. He failed in the Asian Cup and the World Cup. People are not happy with him. This is because Virat (as captain of India) was also on the same line Virat has won all the bilateral series and home Test matches but failed to take India over the edge in ICC events.We have yet to win an ICC trophy under these two captains.People are not happy with Rohit because he hasn’t done well as captain in multi-national tournaments,” added Kaif, who played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs for India.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
The criticism Rohit faced was particularly harsh in the aftermath of the T20 World Cup, due to his own form with the bat in the tournament. He could only manage 116 runs in 6 games, with an average of 19.33.
Overall, Rohit has led India in 71 matches so far (including ODIs, Tests and T20Is) from 2017 onwards and has scored 2409 runs at an average of 38.23, including 4 centuries and 15 fifties, as skipper
“He (Rohit) is a talented batsman as well as a captain. Overall, his record is very good. In the World Cup, apart from the England match, India did well against all teams under the his captain. There will always be ups and downs. South Africa lost to the Netherlands, England lost to Ireland. India played excellently at the World Cup. Rohit should have time,” Kaif signed.
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