India have so far maintained a 100 percent win record at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022. The Men In Blue launched their campaign with a solid five-wicket win over arch rivals Pakistan and carried forward the momentum in the second fixture against minnows Hong Kong, whom they defeated by 40 runs. However, former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez is not very impressed with one man in particular from the Indian camp, and it is the captain Rohit Sharma.
The ex-cricketer, who was a panelist on Pakistan’s PTV discussing the Asia Cup, made a strong remark on Rohit’s body language, which he believes is ‘weak’ and ‘confused’. His remarks came after India’s victory over Hong Kong on Wednesday night and a video of the same was shared by the ex-cricketer on Twitter.
“Body language ki maine baat ki thi, Rohit Sharma jab toss karne aaye toh yeh mujhe bahut weak lage, mujhe bahut ghabraye hue se lage. Mujhe confused lage, mujhe woh Rohit Sharma nazar nahi aa rahe jinko maine observe kiya hua hai match k andar, jinko humne dekha hua hai shandaar innings khelte. (If we observed Rohit Sharma’s body language during the toss, he was weak, there was bit of worry and confusion. I didn’t see the Rohit Sharma, which I have observed during the matches, who plays beautiful innings),” the ex-cricketer can be heard saying in the viral clip.
“Mujhe lagta hai Rohit Sharma ki captaincy inko bahut pressure de rahi hai, aur inke pass bahut si aisi mushqilaat ka saamna karna padh raha hai. Ek toh inki apni form abhi kaafi decline k taraf ja rahi hai. IPL bura gaya, uske baad jabse yeh international cricket khel rahe hain, abhi tak yeh iss format mein inka woh flow wapas nahi aa raha. (I feel captaincy is creating pressure on Rohit Sharma and he has to deal with numerous problems. His own form has taken a hit, IPL went bad and since his return to international cricket, especially in this format, I haven’t seen the flow returning)”
“Bahut si baatein yeh keh rahe hain (He speaks about a lot of stuff), ‘brand of cricket, we will play positively’ but this is not reflecting by the team. Not reflecting by his own body language,” he states further.
The all-rounder, who represented Pakistan in all the three formats, also made a bold statement on Rohit’s future, saying that he doesn’t see India’s premier batter as a captain for a long time. He stated that either Rohit himself or the Indian ‘thinktank’ needs to make a decision soon, and claimed that the India captain’s performance has only dipped after being handed the responsibility of leading the side.
“Bahut lambi der tak mujhe nahi lagta Rohit captain ban sakenge. Kyunki apni form, aur jis tarah k cheeze unke saath chal rahi hain; jo mujhe nazar aa raha hai kyunki main bhi captain raha huun, mujhe bhi idea hai jab as a captain aapke upar pressure aate hain. Rohit ko maine dekha hain humesha enjoy karte hue, expressing himself, abhi main dekh raha huun he’s not expressing himself. Bahut zyada cheezo mein shayad khoye hue hain, bahut si cheezo ki pressure hain and I feel sorry for him. (I don’t think Rohit can remain a captain for a long time. Because he is struggling with his form, the things happening around. I can feel that because I too have been a captain. I’ve always seen Rohit enjoying and expressing himself and now he’s not. He looks lost, he looks under pressure and I feel sorry for him.)”
‘Ya toh yeh, ya phir inka koi thinktank kuch behtar faisla karein. Kyunki mujhe lagta hai yeh abhi bhi cricket khel sakte hain India k liye, achi perform kar sakte hain, lekin jabse yeh captain bane hain he went down. (Either he or his thinktank has to make a decision, because I feel he can play more cricket and contribute to India. But ever since he’s become the captain he went down),” said Hafeez.