India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir slammed Rohit Sharma’s critics after the Men in Blue registered a four-wicket win against Australia in the semifinal of the Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Tuesday.
Gambhir said the media is evaluating Rohit’s performances from his stats whereas they are happy with right-hander’s batting show as he is creating an impact at the top of the order. Rohit has adopted an aggressive batting approach in the white-ball format and he has consistently delivered for the team.
Rohit was dismissed after scoring 28 runs off 29 balls in the semifinal clash against Australia. In four matches of the ongoing Champions Trophy, Rohit hasn’t breached the 50-run mark on a solitary occasion. Rohit has scored 104 runs in four matches at an average of 26 and a strike rate of 107.21.
Rohit recently scored 119 runs off 90 balls against England at Cuttack in the second ODI.
Gautam Gambhir said in the press conference, “Look, the final of the Champions Trophy is now coming up. What can I say before that? If your captain bats with such a tempo, it just gives a very good signal to the dressing room that we want to be absolutely fearless and courageous. You evaluate from the runs; we evaluate from the impact. That’s the difference. You evaluate from the stats; we evaluate from the impact.”
“As journalists, as experts, you only look at numbers, averages. But as a coach, as a team, we don’t look at numbers or averages. If the captain puts up his hand first, then there is nothing better than that for the dressing room.”
Rohit has definitely led from the front and his aggressive approach at the top of the order is putting the team in good stead. India will take on either New Zealand or South Africa in the final at Dubai on Sunday.
