Rohit Sharma is facing a lot of criticism for his dull captaincy and lackluster batting in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. He managed scores of 6, 3, and 10 in his first three innings while batting in the middle order, and things didn’t get any better in Melbourne, where he only managed 3 runs upon returning to the top of the order. There’s been a lot of chatter about his captaincy decisions, like field placements and bowler rotations, but nothing seems to be clicking. A prime example of this was India’s inability to take an early wicket with the second new ball on Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test.

As Australia kept racking up runs, with Steve Smith notching his 11th Test century against India, former BCCI chairman of selectors MSK Prasad couldn’t hold back any longer. He harshly criticized Rohit’s captaincy, batting, and overall cluelessness.

"We talked about Rohit Sharma’s captaincy before this series. We had a three-match series against New Zealand, and it was a disaster. It’s unprecedented for Indian cricket to lose three games in a row, and Rohit was completely out of sorts. He didn’t score any runs in that series, and he missed the first game here. Bumrah led the team really well. So, he’s coming back after a string of failures," Prasad, who served as the chairman of the BCCI selection committee from 2016 to 2020, stated.

Rohit has been having a tough time

The former India wicketkeeper made a solid point about Rohit's recent performance as captain. After leading India to a T20 World Cup win, they surprisingly lost a bilateral ODI series to Sri Lanka for the first time in 28 years, and then faced a tough 0-3 defeat against New Zealand, which was their first home loss in 12 years. Prasad highlighted that Rohit's lack of fresh ideas is affecting the team, which is clear from the players' body language. Plus, his recent underwhelming form isn't doing him any favors.

"I really think this has a direct effect. When the captain is in form, it positively influences the team. But he’s coming off a string of losses, and that’s reflected in his leadership. He hasn’t been very proactive at times. Just look at this Test match; he let Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah bowl 11 overs while Sam [Konstas] was going all out. This kind of decision-making has been a pattern in his captaincy. He’s been struggling with both his role and his performance," Prasad added.

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