'Rohit Sharma's childhood coach joins the criticism towards Virat Kohli'

New Delhi: India’s captain Rohit Sharma‘s childhood coach, Dinesh Lad, has suggested that the opening batter should consider playing a few domestic matches to get back into form before the upcoming Test series. Rohit had a tough time during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where India lost 3-1 and missed out on a spot in the World Test Championship final. Despite missing the first Test due to the birth of his second child, Rohit struggled with the bat, scoring only 31 runs in five innings before deciding not to play in the fifth Test in Sydney. This poor performance has led to criticism of his current form.

Moreover, former cricketers and media outlets also questioned Rohit Sharma’s leadership skills, as his performance and tactical decisions led to India missing out on a chance to secure another ICC title in red-ball cricket.

Dinesh Lad emphasized that after India’s T20 World Cup victory last year, Rohit Sharma‘s focus shifted to winning the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup. However, following India’s disappointing series loss in Australia, Lad suggested that Rohit should prioritize playing domestic cricket to regain form before making a Test return.

Dinesh Lad shared his thoughts, saying, “Rohit has two primary goals — winning the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup. He could’ve retired from all formats after the T20 World Cup victory but chose only to retire from T20 cricket. He’s not the only one struggling for runs, and he should play one or two domestic games to prepare for Test cricket,” Lad told IANS.

“Due to T20 cricket, the mindset of batters has changed. Rohit is technically sound, and against England last year, he was scoring well. When we win, people call him the best captain, but when we lose, they criticize his captaincy,” said Dinesh Lad, the Dronacharya awardee.

Following his recent struggles in Test cricket, Rohit Sharma will next focus on the white-ball challenge against England, preparing for the upcoming Champions Trophy. India will host England for five T20Is and three ODIs starting on January 22.