Sanjay Manjrekar says there will be pressure on Rohit Sharma ahead of England ODIs

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar feels Rohit Sharma will be under pressure for the three-match ODI series against England. Rohit could only score 31 runs in three Test matches against Australia at an average of 6.20 and thus he has been under the scrutiny.

The Indian captain could only return with scores of 3 and 28 in the Ranji Trophy clash against Jammu and Kashmir while playing for Mumbai.

Earlier, Rohit could only score 42 runs in two Test matches against Bangladesh whereas he managed only 91 runs in three Test matches against New Zealand while playing at home.

Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo, “The only interesting thing would be whether Rohit Sharma will play in the fashion like in the 2023 ODI World Cup, he was giving flying starts. There is pressure on him to score big so he might hold back himself slightly.” 

“Rohit Sharma because he is opening, they will try to get 2-3 wickets, England have several pace options. If there is slight assistance on the pitch, it can be slightly testing for Rohit Sharma. But, I don’t think they won’t score in this series.”

Manjrekar feels Virat Kohli won’t be under the same pressure as he will bat at one down.

“I don’t think there is a challenge for Virat Kohli because he’ll come at No. 3. He has enough form and fitness to adapt,” Manjrekar added. [3:10]

The cricket analyst added Shubman Gill will open the innings with Rohit Sharma as he has an impressive record in ODIs and Jaiswal will need to wait for his chances.

“This is One Day cricket and his track record in ODIs has been brilliant. There is no sense in dropping him from ODIs. Yashasvi Jaiswal needs to wait. It’s good news for India that such a quality player is out of the XI. It’s an option for India.”

The first ODI between India and England will be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur on Thursday.