Aakash Chopra scrutinized the choice of stroke by Rohit Sharma, leading to his out in the second T20I, India against Afghanistan.
On Sunday, January 14th in Indore, Ibrahim Zadran’s team set a 173-run target for the Men in Blue to chase, after they were invited to bat first. Despite Rohit’s early dismissal without scoring, the home side managed to achieve the target, losing four wickets with 26 balls left over, giving them a decisive 2-0 lead in the three-match showdown.
Aakash Chopra, via video on his YouTube channel, expressed surprise about Rohit’s manner of dismissal. He explained:
“It was extremely surprising the way Rohit got out. He was playing just his first ball. He doesn’t play such shots. The ball went and hit his stumps. He got run out in the last match and was bowled for zero in this match. He hasn’t scored a single run in this series thus far.”
Aakash Chopra
The former India opener stated that the Mumbai Indians player has to be among the runs in IPL 2024. He clarified:
“Run-out was not his mistake but the shot selection definitely was. There is no doubt about Rohit Sharma’s form and ability. However, he will have to be in form in the IPL and I feel he will bat like this only. We need 38-40, the runs he was scoring in the ODI World Cup, from his bat.”
Aakash Chopra
Rohit stepped back, attempting to hit Fazalhaq Farooqi’s first delivery. Unfortunately, he didn’t connect with the ball and it ended up striking the top of his off-stump. Disappointingly, this marked his second sequential duck.
Aakash Chopra finds Virat Kohli’s ultra-aggressive batting interesting in T20Is
A feeling of surprise fell over Aakash Chopra due to Virat Kohli’s extremely aggressive approach, he said:
“Virat Kohli was also playing in the same fashion. That’s an interesting bit. He was stepping out from the first ball, hitting over the top, and playing shots everywhere. I said he was also playing differently.”
Aakash Chopra
The well-known pundit believes that if the current batting great attempts to score runs too rapidly, he may lose his consistency. He clarified:
“I feel Virat Kohli is at his best, he has scored more than 4000 runs at a strike rate of around 140, so it’s good if he plays close to that. If he tries to do more than that, he will lose his consistency. If he loses his consistency, I will be slightly sad as an Indian cricket fan.”
Aakash Chopra
According to Chopra, since high-scoring games are not anticipated in the West Indies and New York, a very aggressive strategy might not be required. He did admit, though, that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will modify their strategies according to the situation.
