
Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev on Monday said that one should not doubt Rohit Sharma’s ability to make a comeback. He also said that the Indian captain, who is surrounded by criticism, does not need to prove himself at this stage of his career.
In the pink ball Test in Adelaide, Rohit scored three and six runs while batting in the middle order. He was criticized by fans and former players for his soft approach. India lost the match by 10 wickets in two and a half days.
“He doesn’t need to prove himself,” Kapil said during an event at Delhi Golf Club here. He has been doing this for many years so we should not doubt anyone. I wouldn’t doubt that. I hope he gets back to form, that’s important.” Rohit did not play in the initial Test due to the birth of his second child.
Despite scoring most of his runs as an opener, the 37-year-old Rohit came out to bat at number six in the second Test, giving Lokesh Rahul, who had played a key role in the team’s victory in Perth, the opportunity to open the innings. Kapil said, “On the basis of one or two performances, if you have doubts about someone’s captaincy. I mean you wouldn’t have asked this question just six months ago when they won the T20 World Cup. Let it go, knowing his ability and talent, he will bounce back. He will come back stronger.
Asked whether it was a mistake to include young Harshit Rana in the second Test, Kapil said: ”I am not one. How can I decide? There are people there who have the responsibility to decide who should be in the team.” In Rohit’s absence, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah led India to a 295-run win in Perth.
When asked whether Bumrah is preparing well to take over the reins from Rohit, Kapil said, “I think it is too early to talk about it. On the basis of one performance you cannot say that he is the best and on the basis of one bad performance you cannot say that he does not deserve it.” Virat is struggling with poor form ahead of the five-Test series in Australia. Kohli was successful in scoring his first century in 18 months in Perth. However, the star batsman failed in the second test and could only score seven and 11 runs in the two innings.
Kapil said, “Virat Kohli is one of the best cricketers of our country. If you include the top four batsmen, he will be there. If he is going through a bad phase, it only depends on how fast he can bounce back.” Former India batsman Vinod Kambli is battling alcohol-related and other health problems. Recently, during a public program organized in the memory of legendary coach Ramakant Achrekar, he appeared very weak. He was seen stopping his childhood friend Sachin Tendulkar by holding his hand.
Kapil expressed grief over Kambli’s condition and stressed the need for outside help as well as self-help. Kapil said, “We all should try to support him. But he has to support himself more than us. If a person can’t take care of himself, we can’t take care of him.”
He said, “All the cricketers are very saddened by what we have seen. I want his closest friends to get him some help so he can take care of himself and get back into rehab. “People get this disease but you have to go back to rehab.”