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Former India cricketer Kirti Azad who was part of Kapil Dev-led 1983 World Cup winning squad backed Rohit Sharma after Men in Blue faced a humiliating loss in the second Test match against Australia. Azad slammed the critics of the Indian captain after Australia defeated the Rohit Sharma-led side by 10 wickets to level the five-Test match series in Adelaide.
Azad said that the people who are watching cricket on television in the comfort of their homes should not be the judges of whether a senior player should be dropped. Azad asked fans for patience rather than calling to drop Rohit after his few poor outings in the longest format of the game.
"I believe that a senior player who has played more than him (Rohit Sharma) can speak on his form, and not those who sit and watch the match on the television," said Azad, speaking to ANI.
"If 140 crore people in the nation start selecting the team, then nobody will be playing for India. Every player has some weakness or the other," Azad stated further.
Rohit joined the squad for the second Test match after missing the Perth Test due to the birth of his child (which India won by 295 runs). In the absence of Rohit, Jasprit Bumrah led the squad and KL Rahul featured as an opener alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal.
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KL Rahul who featured as an opener in place of Rohit performed brilliantly as he scored 103 runs in the first Test match. After watching his game Rohit sacrificed his batting position for Bengaluru-based cricketer and he came to bat at number 6.
However, that move did not work out in India's favour and Rohit just scored a combined nine runs in the second Test match. The Indian captain scored only 3 and 6, as India lost the second Test by 10 wickets in the end.
"The opposition team has also come to play and fight, not to lose. Here, people call for players to be dropped after just five or six games," Azad said.
"The unfortunate thing is that everything you say is based on victory or defeat," Azad stated.
After losing the second Test match, Rohit-led India are currently in Brisbane preparing for the third Test match which is scheduled to take place from December 14 at iconic Gabba. The ongoing series is important for India considering their chances for the World Test Championship (WTC) final which is scheduled to take place in England next year. Last edition's finalists India need to win all the remaining matches to seal their spot in the WTC final.
