Former Pakistani star batter Salman Butt took a potshot at Rohit Sharma for his struggle to perform in high-pressure situations as the latter is preparing to lead India in the marquee ICC ODI World Cup 2023 respectively.
The Indian skipper Rohit must be under tremendous pressure as he will be tasked with ending the country's long-standing World Cup drought. India's last World Cup title triumph came in 2011, and the last ICC trophy they lifted was in 2013.
The anticipation was enormous when Sharma took over from Virat Kohli as the team's leader. However, thus far, he hasn't been able to fill the void of an ICC trophy. In 2022, Rohit captained India in both the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup, but Men in Blue bit the dust on both occasions. In the Asia Cup, Rohit's brigade was eliminated at the Super 4 stage, and they suffered a 10-wicket defeat against England in the T20 World Cup semifinal.
He also couldn't steer India to a victory in the World Test Championship final against Australia in June. Sharma will be in command for the upcoming Asia Cup and ODI World Cup, and he will undoubtedly be expected to perform both as a batter and a captain.
Butt's commentary on Rohit
While responding to fan questions on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt offered some thoughts about the Indian team. One of the questions concerned the possibility of Ishan Kishan opening the innings for India in the ODI World Cup instead of Rohit Sharma.
“I accept that Rohit is a big player, but some players are there who have been around for a long time but when pressure gets to them, they can’t deliver. Especially at the knock-out stages, this is something that has to be worked on,” Salman Butt said during an interaction on his YouTube channel.
Kishan recently showcased his prowess with the bat in a three-match ODI series against the West Indies, hitting half-centuries in all three games and helping India to a 2-1 series victory. Given Rishabh Pant's absence, Kishan is considered one of the leading contenders for the wicketkeeper-batter role in the Indian Team set up.
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