Former England captain Michael Vaughan has hit out at Rohit Sharma‘s captaincy in the first Test of the India-England series in Hyderabad.
India lost by 28 runs in the first match of the series against England after leading by 190 runs in the first innings. Ollie Pope scored a match-changing 196 in the second innings, helping to get England back into the match with a wealth of sweeps and reverse sweeps.
As the match progressed, India became lethargic on the field and Rohit’s captaincy came under scrutiny. This was India’s second defeat in a home Test within the past year. In fact, India has not won any of the last three Test matches played at home. All this was done under the direction of Rohit.
Vaughn was among those who criticized Rohit. On his YouTube channel Club Prairie Fire, Vaughan said India missed out on Virat Kohli’s captaincy and if he had been the leader they would not have lost the Hyderabad Test. Told.
“They missed out on Virat Kohli’s captaincy in Test cricket by a huge margin,” Vaughan said. “If Virat had captained us this week, India would not have lost the game. Rohit is a legend and a great player, but I felt he was completely switched off.”
Earlier this week, Vaughan wrote a column in the Telegraph expressing similar concerns about Rohit’s captaincy in the first Test. “I thought Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was very average,” Vaughan wrote.
“I thought he was very reactive. I didn’t think he was aggressive in manipulating the field or changing his bowling. And he didn’t do anything with Ollie Pope’s sweeps or reverse sweeps. I couldn’t answer either.”
The Hyderabad Test was the first home Test in which India lost after leading by more than 100 runs in the first innings. Under Rohit, India has now lost four of the 12 Tests and won six.
The second Test of the series will begin in Vizag on February 2. The last time India lost a Test series at home was in 2012 when England defeated India 2-1.
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