Kotak Dismisses Concerns Over Rohit's Recent Form Ahead of Cuttack ODI
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Synopsis
India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak reassured fans about Rohit Sharma's form, highlighting his impressive ODI stats. Despite a rough Test series in Australia and a low score in the ODI opener against England, Kotak remains optimistic about Sharma's capabilities as they prepare for the second ODI in Cuttack.
Key Takeaways
- Rohit Sharma's form not a concern according to Sitanshu Kotak.
- Rohit has a strong record in ODIs with 31 centuries.
- Recent ODI scores before Nagpur: 56, 64, 35.
- India's batting unit showed resilience in the first ODI.
- Shubman Gill and others contributed significantly to the run chase.
New Delhi, Feb 8 (NationPress) The batting coach of India, Sitanshu Kotak, expressed confidence in captain Rohit Sharma despite his recent struggles, emphasizing the veteran's impressive performance statistics in the One Day Internationals. Following a disappointing Test series in Australia, Rohit managed only two runs in the ODI series opener against England held in Nagpur.
“I personally don’t see any issues. In the last three ODIs prior to the Nagpur match, Rohit scored 56, 64, and 35 against Sri Lanka, maintaining an average above 50. We are discussing a player with 31 ODI centuries. When he is consistently scoring runs, no one questions, ‘When will he falter?’
“When a player gets dismissed or experiences a dip in form, I don’t feel it’s something to worry about. Yes, the Test series in Australia was challenging for him. However, regarding the ODIs, his performance in the previous three matches before Nagpur was strong. Therefore, I’m not overly concerned,” Kotak stated during a pre-match press event ahead of the second ODI set to take place in Cuttack on Sunday.
During their chase of 249 runs in Nagpur, India faced early losses with two wickets down, but Shubman's stellar 87 runs off 96 balls, coupled with fifties from Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel, led them to victory in 38.4 overs. Kotak remained unfazed by the early loss of openers in the Nagpur match, where India took a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.
“Gill, Shreyas, and Axar performed exceptionally well. Losing some wickets is part of the game, whether they are openers or middle-order batsmen. As a batting unit or team, we saw numerous positives – the manner in which we batted and demonstrated our intent,” he concluded.
