India captain Rohit Sharma has been rested for the 5-match T20I series against South Africa.© AFP
Former India pacer RP Singh has reacted to the decision to rest captain Rohit Sharma for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa. Rohit had a below-par Indian Premier League season with the bat as Mumbai Indians finished bottom of the IPL points table. He ended the season with 268 runs from 14 matches, failing to score even a single fifty. RP Singh feels that there was no reason for Rohit to take a break for the South Africa series.
“I think he should’ve played the series. Taking rest or not is his personal thought. It depends on how much fatigue he is experiencing. But I don’t think there was a need for a break. He should have played. It’s a long series and, remember, he is the captain as well,” RP Singh said during an interaction on India TV.
Speaking further on Rohit’s poor form, RP Singh highlighted that the 35-year-old has not been consistent in the IPL for the last three-four seasons.
“In the IPL, Rohit hasn’t scored over 400 runs in the last few seasons. There are many others who have crossed the 400-run mark. His performances have been inconsistent in the tournament but he used to come up with a couple of match-winning knocks. So, everyone felt the spark in his batting was there. In the shortest format, you need match-winners. Even if they fire in a couple of matches, the team will win those,” he added.
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In Rohit’s absence, KL Rahul will lead Team India against South Africa.
The first T20I will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday, June 9.
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