In three innings in the ongoing India vs New Zealand ODI series, Rohit Sharma has scored 23 runs. In two of those innings (the first and the fourth), he was dismissed for 0. The former India captain is gearing up for the 2027 ODI World Cup, and this string of low scores is a cause for concern. India are 2-1 ahead in the five-match series, with the decider set to be played on Sunday. Ahead of the fifth ODI, where Rohit has a chance to redeem himself, as he has done on many occasions in recent bilateral series, former India batter Mohammad Kaif has identified a worrying pattern in his dismissals.
“This happens very often with Rohit Sharma. He has had a good year. But his feet were planted on a pitch where there was movement on offer. The ball was on the shorter side compared to the deliveries faced by Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishanand Shreyas Iyer. He did not go completely back nor commit forward. He played without moving his feet. Throughout his career, irrespective of the format, he has been dismissed many times by that in-between length in the first over,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
In the fourth ODI at Mount Maunganui, Rohit was caught in the slips off Matt Henry on the first ball of the innings.
Before the New Zealand series, Rohit Sharma scored a century against West Indies in the previous ODI series that India played. He also scored a century in England.
Kaif was also taken aback by the absence of Mohammed Siraj from the India XI.
“It is a bit of a surprise that a bowler like Mohammed Siraj is part of the squad but is not playing. In the first ODI, we thought he was being rested to recover after playing red-ball cricket. He has not played since then either,” he said.
“Nabi, Anshul Kambojor even Gurnoor Brar need some help from the pitch. Nabi got the ball to move in overcast conditions in the first two ODIs. But when the sun is shining and conditions are better for batting, he still needs to learn a bit more. You have a well-trained player in Siraj, who has grown up playing in flat conditions.”
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