Rohit Sharma has had a bittersweet time as captain in the ongoing India vs Australia fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Rohit’s move of taking the second new ball backfired. It attracted heavy criticism from former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and former India head coach Ravi Shastri.

Ravi Shastri said on commentary during Day 2 –

“I think India lost the plot last night. Taking the new ball was not the right thing to do considering Umesh is 35, Shami is not getting any younger. They had bowled a lot. They were getting tired. A shorter burst with two overs is fine. But taking the new ball as early as that let Australia get away.”

Shastri, who recently received a scathing reaction from Rohit Sharma for terming the Indian team as ‘overconfident’, said the hosts decided to take the second new ball. The former India all-rounder said that considering the age of fast bowlers Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami, taking the new ball so early was not the right move.

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Ravi added –

“As a captain, things have moved fast during his tenure. He has been captaining on turning tracks where things get over in three days. So, this is a big learning curve.”

“When you play on a surface like this where wickets are hard to come, the batting is good. As a captain, you’ve got to put your thinking cap on, and marshall your resources. It’s one thing captaining in India, one thing captaining overseas and one thing captaining in India on good tracks like these. He has all the skills, this is the exposure that he needs.”