Dinesh Lad Advocates for Rohit to Engage in Domestic Matches for Test Cricket Readiness
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New Delhi, Jan 6 (NationPress) - Dinesh Lad, the childhood coach of India captain Rohit Sharma, has recommended that the opening batsman should participate in a few domestic matches to gear up for Test cricket following his poor performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
India faced a setback in the five-Test series, losing 3-1 and consequently missing out on a third consecutive opportunity to compete in the World Test Championship final. Rohit, who was unavailable for the first Test due to the arrival of his second child, struggled to surpass 10 runs in his next five innings before deciding to rest for the fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He managed a mere 31 runs across five innings, leading to public criticism regarding his underwhelming performances.
Additionally, his leadership abilities were put under scrutiny by former cricketers and the media, as India lost a chance to secure a major ICC title in red-ball cricket.
Dinesh Lad pointed out that after clinching the T20 World Cup last year, Rohit had set his sights on winning both the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup. However, following the disappointing results in Australia, the coach advised Rohit to prioritize domestic cricket before stepping back into Test matches.
"I believe Rohit's primary objectives are to win the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup. If he had wanted, he could have retired from all formats after the T20 World Cup victory, but he only chose to retire from T20 cricket. He is not the only player experiencing difficulties in scoring runs. It would be beneficial for him to participate in one or two domestic games to prepare for Test matches," Dinesh Lad told IANS.
"The advent of T20 cricket has altered the mindset of batters. Rohit is a technically proficient player, and he performed well against England last year. When we win, people hail Rohit as the best captain, but in defeat, they question his captaincy skills," added the Dronacharya awardee.
Following this challenging phase in Test cricket, Rohit is set to prepare for the white-ball series against England ahead of the Champions Trophy. India will welcome England for a series of five T20Is and three ODIs, commencing on January 22.
