The Star of India Slams Rohit Sharma's Captaincy Tactics
Veteran wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik of Indian cricket team Dinesh Karthik was not pleased with the 'defensive' approach of Rohit Sharma on Day 4 of the first Test match against England on Sunday. Resuming at 316/6, Ollie Pope ended up scoring 196 as India were given a target of 231. Karthik said that India were very defensive in their approach from the start of the day, and although it was understandable to be conservative in their tactics against Pope, he pointed out that against tail-enders like Tom Hartley, Ravichandran Ashwin, and RavindraJadeja, they should have had attacking fielders to create pressure.
Karthik said, "India has been too defensive. I can understand being defensive to Pope, but to Tom Hartley, Jadeja and Ashwin should get attacking fielders and not so many sweepers.”
Legendary India cricketer Ravi Shastri also echoed similar sentiments, saying that it is 'unknown territory' for Rohit and Co for a visiting side to score over 400 runs in the third inning.
He added, "The body language is dropping. This is an unknown territory for India. You can sense that the home team is under pressure. They are not used to visiting teams pilling on 400-plus runs in the third inning.”