What can we learn from Rohit Sharma's captaincy against Pakistan at World Cup 2023?

[Dr_Bassim]

I liked his captaincy a lot today.

Rightfully went to defense early up when ball was doing nothing.

Introduced Kuldeep early and moved to Jadeja early also.

Built pressure than brought seamers so Pakistan felt they had to attack seamers which is why Babar fell trying to be too cute.

The best part though was once Iftikhar fell, he brought back Bumrah to mop up the tail.

That was a masterstroke and the difference between Pakistan getting 250 and less than 192.

Going for the kill is something I wish Pakistani captains did.

I wont call Babar out for this because ever since the days of Inzimam, no captain has gone for the kill when the side is down.

Best we had for Sarfraz who used his limited resources to win us the CT 17.

Unfortunately, his batting failed him in ODIs.

I think role of captain is really underrated in cricket.

I doubt Kohli would have gone for the kill today with Pak at 166-5.

Discuss.

 

[mominsaigol]

I liked his captaincy a lot today.

Rightfully went to defense early up when ball was doing nothing.

Introduced Kuldeep early and moved to Jadeja early also.

Built pressure than brought seamers so Pakistan felt they had to attack seamers which is why Babar fell trying to be too cute.

The best part though was once Iftikhar fell, he brought back Bumrah to mop up the tail.

That was a masterstroke and the difference between Pakistan getting 250 and less than 192.

Going for the kill is something I wish Pakistani captains did.

I wont call Babar out for this because ever since the days of Inzimam, no captain has gone for the kill when the side is down.

Best we had for Sarfraz who used his limited resources to win us the CT 17.

Unfortunately, his batting failed him in ODIs.

I think role of captain is really underrated in cricket.

I doubt Kohli would have gone for the kill today with Pak at 166-5.

Discuss.

Haris adopted the same captaincy policy that rohit sharma did bro.

What rohit did isn't anything unique, latham has been doing it this entire cup, so has sa.

Eng hasn't because their mindset is still stuck on outbatting and aus tries to but atm their dealing with hasbeens.

Bottom line What India did isn't anything new. Sarfi use to do the same thing, heck misbah for all his shortcomings as well. The guy would play chucking ajmal from overs 30 to 50 making it impossible for teams to get to anything beyond 230 lol.

It's just babar is the worst captain on the face of the earth and is worse then even minnow captains. So rohit's captaincy seems godly in comparison.

Best captain was Dhoni, the guy made insane gambles and had insane insight that paid off like asking ishant sharma to bowl the final over of CT 2013 and it paid off surprisingly, because he saw ishant sharma is a crap bowler but he was onsong that day

 

[Saj]

Very impressed with his bowling changes today and the way he led from the front with the bat.

He started positively and continued that way of batting, rather than going into his box and becoming defensive.

 

[Savak]

Rohit has not won 5 IPL's for nothing. Babar does not even deserve to be captain of his domestic team and here we have appointed him as Pakistan's captain.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Your only as good as your weapons allow. Babar has a non existent bowling line up and a meek and talentless batting team.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Nothing . He should have killed the game early by bringing Kuldeep on when Rizwan was new to the crease.

He brought Jadeja and Thakur in and allowed Pakistan to settle.

Kuldeep could have broken the game much earlier and PAK would have struggled to 150.

 

[Savak]

Your only as good as your weapons allow. Babar has a non existent bowling line up and a meek and talentless batting team.

Babar himself is levels below Rohit Sharma as a batsman in limited overs cricket

 

[Bhaijaan]

He’s a seasoned leader in a successful IPL franchise.

 

[docteurmanish]

Rohit Genius is in team building

- he has supported Ayer , rahul over sampson and waited for them to get fit . Bold call .

- he has thrown out chahal and formed the right template for odi

- has given confidence to shardul and kishan and given them games

- kept ashwin , axar and sundar in the loop . Axar injury and tried ash and sundar . Ashwin is being used the right way now

- has modified his batting approach to get more out of first 15 . Today he didn’t tuk tuk to 100 .. he is preparing for England challenge

- has kept Sky in his arsenal . Developed him into odi batter and kept patience inspite of early failures .

- Shami and krishna are his other weapons . A year ago , he saw the need for tall hit deck bowler . He has that option for high bounce pitches like dharamshala

On field, he manages worload well. He has got v good help from pandya and bumrah

Finally, he gave full support to kohli when he was not in form . Now back to full form , hitman and king are the biggest threat to all teams. But if they don’t get you , he has create enuf depth to deal with 15 for 4 wicket situations too .

 

[pillionrider]

Nothing . He should have killed the game early by bringing Kuldeep on when Rizwan was new to the crease.

He brought Jadeja and Thakur in and allowed Pakistan to settle.

Kuldeep could have broken the game much earlier and PAK would have struggled to 150.

Kuldeep had bowled one over before and looked like he couldn't find his line. He didn't seem confident and Rohit seems like a gut instinct guy who reads players well.

Anyway, there's plenty wrong with his selections. I used to be a Thakur fan but I don't think he has much oomph left in his batting (unless it's a bouncy pitch) to warrant his continued selection. Rohit isn't even confident enough to give him a long spell. So what's the point in picking his buddy repeatedly over Ashwin.

I'd personally also prefer Ishan over Iyer in the middle order any day.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Kuldeep had bowled one over before and looked like he couldn't find his line. He didn't seem confident and Rohit seems like a gut instinct guy who reads players well.

Anyway, there's plenty wrong with his selections. I used to be a Thakur fan but I don't think he has much oomph left in his batting (unless it's a bouncy pitch) to warrant his continued selection. Rohit isn't even confident enough to give him a long spell. So what's the point in picking his buddy repeatedly over Ashwin.

I'd personally also prefer Ishan over Iyer in the middle order any day.

Iyer has played well. I think an extra batter over Thakur is well called for if not for Jadeja. Pandya will give 7 overs. If Iyer can give 3 overs of part time spin, the team has to get SKY in at 7 and look to kill teams with batting firepower on days our bowling doesn't click. Te choice has to be between Jadeja and Thakur.

Playing 6 bowlers is a very conservative, defensive strategy. Get SKY in at 7 and you'll see the real ability of this batting lineup.

 

[pillionrider]

Iyer has played well. I think an extra batter over Thakur is well called for if not for Jadeja. Pandya will give 7 overs. If Iyer can give 3 overs of part time spin, the team has to get SKY in at 7 and look to kill teams with batting firepower on days our bowling doesn't click. Te choice has to be between Jadeja and Thakur.

Playing 6 bowlers is a very conservative, defensive strategy. Get SKY in at 7 and you'll see the real ability of this batting lineup.

Yeah, agree on SKY being discarded too early. It is insane the fear he could generate lower down. But there is no way I see this team dropping Jadeja and it's justified because he looks so far like he is reliable for 10 overs.

I don't like Iyer because, forget his Bharatanatyam skills vs pace, I don't believe for one second that he can ever see us through if he doesn't have someone senior to him at the other end. A bit like Rahul. But Rahul is at least vastly superior, skill-wise.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Yeah, agree on SKY being discarded too early. It is insane the fear he could generate lower down. But there is no way I see this team dropping Jadeja and it's justified because he looks so far like he is reliable for 10 overs.

I don't like Iyer because, forget his Bharatanatyam skills vs pace, I don't believe for one second that he can ever see us through if he doesn't have someone senior to him at the other end. A bit like Rahul. But Rahul is at least vastly superior, skill-wise.

Problem is there is no better number 4 than Iyer and no better 5 than KL Rahul. Iyer is also batting a lot more confidently now. He's getting out to full-blooded shots now rather half-hearted pokes.

If not Jadeja, then Thakur has to get the chop. At the business end, India needs to go with SKY coming in at 6/7 and either coax 10 overs out of Pandya or get 7 from him and 3 overs from ANYBODY who can roll his arm over is enough.

We can smash teams like AFG and PAK with even an NRR boost. NZ, SA, England are meticulously planned sides with a lot of skill and will fight for every run. There WILL be a need for a lower order counter attack at some point and we can't keep coasting along like this always.

 

[Rana]

What you can learn?

Play the game, not the name. There were times when I couldn’t understand why Rohit was feeding Thakur and Pandya to Babar and Rizwan, whilst Jadeja and Kuldeep were not being allowed to settle into a spell. These two batsmen score 90% of their runs against the 5th/6th bowlers.

Rohit had a plan, he got through some overs and then he brought on his two spinners that he banks on to build pressure.

He could have easily brought on Bumrah instead of Siraj to cash in on the pressure but then again, he was rewarded with the big wicket of Babar for this move (which he persisted with after a previous 15 run over by Siraj). That was the match!

Pressure built was so much that Bumrah could easily come in and clean up Pakistan

 

[Justcrazy]

Problem is there is no better number 4 than Iyer and no better 5 than KL Rahul. Iyer is also batting a lot more confidently now. He's getting out to full-blooded shots now rather half-hearted pokes.

If not Jadeja, then Thakur has to get the chop. At the business end, India needs to go with SKY coming in at 6/7 and either coax 10 overs out of Pandya or get 7 from him and 3 overs from ANYBODY who can roll his arm over is enough.

We can smash teams like AFG and PAK with even an NRR boost. NZ, SA, England are meticulously planned sides with a lot of skill and will fight for every run. There WILL be a need for a lower order counter attack at some point and we can't keep coasting along like this always.

India will play either ashwin or Thakur at number 8. This will not change.

 

[aukhan]

Daleri is needed to win big games.

 

[Justcrazy]

Yeah, agree on SKY being discarded too early. It is insane the fear he could generate lower down. But there is no way I see this team dropping Jadeja and it's justified because he looks so far like he is reliable for 10 overs.

I don't like Iyer because, forget his Bharatanatyam skills vs pace, I don't believe for one second that he can ever see us through if he doesn't have someone senior to him at the other end. A bit like Rahul. But Rahul is at least vastly superior, skill-wise.

With Iyer and Rahul there , there is No way SKY can be played. The issue is if he fails in crucial stage and India lose , there will be a big backlash.

 

[Sir Alex]

I disagree. Rohit wasn't exceptional tactically today. Yes he made some bowling changes but those were on expected lines. He let the game drift when Rizwan and Babar were on for starters. Unnecessarily included Thakur in the team when Ashwin could have added more value. And then bowled Thakur instead of Kuldeep when Rizwan had just come out and survived a close lbw appeal etc.

Rohit has possibly the world's best bowling attack at his disposal. The mode of dismissals is a good indicator - 8 out 10 dismissals were either caught behind or lbw or bowled - indicating these were 100% bowler driven. He also failed to back up his spinners with close in fielders even at the end. Kuldeep's last two deliveries went through thr bat pad and would've been easy dismissals. Rohit is simply not an attacking captain in tests and ODIs. But his bowlers have been just too good to eke out dismissals regardless.

 

[pillionrider]

Problem is there is no better number 4 than Iyer and no better 5 than KL Rahul. Iyer is also batting a lot more confidently now. He's getting out to full-blooded shots now rather half-hearted pokes.

If not Jadeja, then Thakur has to get the chop. At the business end, India needs to go with SKY coming in at 6/7 and either coax 10 overs out of Pandya or get 7 from him and 3 overs from ANYBODY who can roll his arm over is enough.

We can smash teams like AFG and PAK with even an NRR boost. NZ, SA, England are meticulously planned sides with a lot of skill and will fight for every run. There WILL be a need for a lower order counter attack at some point and we can't keep coasting along like this always.

Rohit
Gill
Virat
Rahul
Ishan
Surya
Hardik
Jadeja/Ashwin
Bumrah
Kuldeep
Siraj

This would be a terrifying lineup to bowl to, if only Hardik could be trusted with 10 overs. Also shows how valuable Yuvraj was in 2011. Even Raina could bowl a couple at least.

 

[Kianig89]

With due respect, but Pakistan started going in a shell once Sir Ravindra Jadeja came into act, the spin duo tied them which gave Rohit the luxury nothing exceptional in captaincy

 

[Asad T]

Ramiz Raja on Rohit Sharma's captaincy in the India / Pakistan match:

"I enjoyed the way Rohit Sharma captained. Pakistan was going great at 150 /2 but [Rohit] knew what could happen. The squeeze was on when the spinners came to bowl and Rohit did not panic and kept the slip in place throughout the innings..And he brought on Siraj at the right time to get rid of Babar"

 

[MP2011]

Thakur isn't good enough to be in our 3rd XI, let alone in our WC XI.

This is Rohit's biggest mistake and he'll regret it if he keeps committing it.

Thakur is an out and out curse for any team he plays in, let alone us.

 

[MP2011]

If not Ashwin, we gotta play a proper batsman, the one who can give cushion for a top order collapse, something which we are very prone to every now and then.

Thakur can neither bat, nor bowl or field. Don't know how he keeps getting such a long rope.

 

[pakistani pride]

Your only as good as your weapons allow. Babar has a non existent bowling line up and a meek and talentless batting team.

Groomed and backed by Babar himself. He calls them his matchwinners and plays the same 11 also against Somalia, Kenya and even if there is a local club game in Lahore.

 

[Mamoon]

I would like to see Rohit squeeze the opposition batsmen and apply pressure when his spinners are Shadab and Nawaz and not Kuldeep and Jadeja.

Rohit is a good captain for sure but as captain, you are greatly enabled - or handicapped - by the resources that you have at your disposal.

Rohit will never win a World Cup as Pakistan captain unless he wins matches on his own with the bat which can’t always happen.

It is great to focus on captaincy and tactics but it will always be secondary to the quality that you have in your team.

Pakistan’s main problem right now is that the spinners are not good enough and don’t belong at this level.

Babar is a poor captain but Pakistan’s first priority should be to find two quality spinners not who should replace Babar as captain.

Babar and Rizwan would have decimated Shadab and Nawaz yesterday if they were playing for India regardless of what 4D chess Rohit was playing in his head.

 

[pakistani pride]

I would like to see Rohit squeeze the opposition batsmen and apply pressure when his spinners are Shadab and Nawaz and not Kuldeep and Jadeja.

Rohit is a good captain for sure but as captain, you are greatly enabled - or handicapped - by the resources that you have at your disposal.

Rohit will never win a World Cup as Pakistan captain unless he wins matches on his own with the bat which can’t always happen.

It is great to focus on captaincy and tactics but it will always be secondary to the quality that you have in your team.

Pakistan’s main problem right now is that the spinners are not good enough and don’t belong at this level.

Babar is a poor captain but Pakistan’s first priority should be to find two quality spinners not who should replace Babar as captain.

Babar and Rizwan would have decimated Shadab and Nawaz yesterday if they were playing for India regardless of what 4D chess Rohit was playing in his head.

Babar is weak against (leg) spinners.

 

[Mamoon]

Babar is weak against (leg) spinners.

But Shadab doesn’t qualify as a leg spinner anymore. He is a part-timer.

Babar will have no problems dealing with him.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Rohit
Gill
Virat
Rahul
Ishan
Surya
Hardik
Jadeja/Ashwin
Bumrah
Kuldeep
Siraj

This would be a terrifying lineup to bowl to, if only Hardik could be trusted with 10 overs. Also shows how valuable Yuvraj was in 2011. Even Raina could bowl a couple at least.

The problem is the pitches will grip for the spinners and Ishan is just not fluent against spin unless he gets to face Shadab s half volleys. Shreyas is much stronger against spin and is much more solid than Ishan.

He might be able to bat at 7 in that lineup where he gets to play pace so maybe in a lineup like that it can be one of him/SKY

 

[Savak]

I would like to see Rohit squeeze the opposition batsmen and apply pressure when his spinners are Shadab and Nawaz and not Kuldeep and Jadeja.

Rohit is a good captain for sure but as captain, you are greatly enabled - or handicapped - by the resources that you have at your disposal.

Rohit will never win a World Cup as Pakistan captain unless he wins matches on his own with the bat which can’t always happen.

It is great to focus on captaincy and tactics but it will always be secondary to the quality that you have in your team.

Pakistan’s main problem right now is that the spinners are not good enough and don’t belong at this level.

Babar is a poor captain but Pakistan’s first priority should be to find two quality spinners not who should replace Babar as captain.

Babar and Rizwan would have decimated Shadab and Nawaz yesterday if they were playing for India regardless of what 4D chess Rohit was playing in his head.

Tbh I doubt Babar and Rizwan are dominating the spinners in the net. If they was the case they would not keep selecting these pathetic spinners day in day out.

Their batting yesterday against Jadeja and Kuldeep was pathetic.

 

[Thephenom]

Bowling wicket to wicket isn’t genius captaincy

 

[Saj]

For Babar specifically:

Don't panic
Always have a Plan B and C
Keep the pressure on the batters
Don't take your foot off the throat of the opposition
Don't be afraid to attack with the bat even when it's a smallish total

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Nothing . He should have killed the game early by bringing Kuldeep on when Rizwan was new to the crease.

He brought Jadeja and Thakur in and allowed Pakistan to settle.

Kuldeep could have broken the game much earlier and PAK would have struggled to 150.

No what he did was right ,,, Rizwan is sweeping spinners really well quite recently and Kuldeeps pace would be very ideal for him to do so... And when spinners get swept regualrly they became nothing sort of a threat and also lose the mind to control , grip and confidence to bowl wicket taking deliveries..

On the other hand , Rizwan wont be able to sweep Jadeja because of his pace up and some darts, rightly so he was caught in an awkward position sweeping a ball and given out where the DRS reverted back as missing leg stump.. Thakur he saw was useless being taken easily by Rizwan and Babar took him out of the attack never bother to keep overs for his frontline pacers at the end, he simply didnt give that a thought instead went for the kill and was highly successful..

 

[ask_analyse_act]

For Babar specifically:

Don't panic
Always have a Plan B and C
Keep the pressure on the batters
Don't take your foot off the throat of the opposition
Don't be afraid to attack with the bat even when it's a smallish total

By this many years being as a captain , it is expected of him to learn from the job atleast..

His captaincy is as equal to Azhar Ali, dont expect him to win against top sides (A) teams or tournaments..

Yes C and D teams , he would scratch wins here and there..

 

[Nikhil_cric]

No what he did was right ,,, Rizwan is sweeping spinners really well quite recently and Kuldeeps pace would be very ideal for him to do so... And when spinners get swept regualrly they became nothing sort of a threat and also lose the mind to control , grip and confidence to bowl wicket taking deliveries..

On the other hand , Rizwan wont be able to sweep Jadeja because of his pace up and some darts, rightly so he was caught in an awkward position sweeping a ball and given out where the DRS reverted back as missing leg stump.. Thakur he saw was useless being taken easily by Rizwan and Babar took him out of the attack never bother to keep overs for his frontline pacers at the end, he simply didnt give that a thought instead went for the kill and was highly successful..

Rizwan is poor vs wrist spin. Also it's not easy to sweep Kuldeep. You have to play strong shots down the ground. Can't play square or behind square on a slow pitch because his deliveries don't slide on to the bat.

They bounce a bit too much because gets more revs on the ball.

 

[rhony]

Thakur isn't good enough to be in our 3rd XI, let alone in our WC XI.

This is Rohit's biggest mistake and he'll regret it if he keeps committing it.

Thakur is an out and out curse for any team he plays in, let alone us.

It's like Dinesh Mongia in 2003 world cup. A dud spot.

 

[DJhant]

Thakur isn't good enough to be in our 3rd XI, let alone in our WC XI.

This is Rohit's biggest mistake and he'll regret it if he keeps committing it.

Thakur is an out and out curse for any team he plays in, let alone us.

You are unnecessarily hating him, he is actually our lucky charm. In Test he made us win couple of memorable matches in SENA. In ODI, Deepak Chahar could have replaced him, but he is not avialble. India didnt want to take chance with dew factor and three spinners. Thakur ODI record is not at all bad, economy is high but genuine wicket taker.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

I don't think so. He seemed panicked at one moment when the scoreboard was at 150/2, and there were a lot of mistakes in yesterday's match.

He should have continued with Kuldeep instead of discarding him after the first over. He allowed Pakistan to build the partnership by choosing Thakur and Pandya, even though they were leaking runs.

Luckily, Siraj provided the breakthrough, and Kuldeep dismantled the middle order in no time. Rohit would have faced a lot of heat if Pakistan had scored 300 runs.