NEW DELHI
\nIndia skipper Rohit Sharma\u2019s woeful batting form is affecting his captaincy in Australia, according to former teammates Harbhajan Singh and Cheteshwar Pujara.
\nRohit has only one half-century in his last 12 test innings, which include eight single-digit scores, and batting in the middle order in the second test brought no relief for the opener, who managed three and six in Adelaide.
\nRohit missed India\u2019s comprehensive victory in the opening test in Perth to care for his newborn son and commentators found his captaincy in Adelaide, where Australia triumphed by 10 wickets, rather defensive.
\n\u201cNo matter how big a player is, he is always worried about his performance,\u201d former India spinner Singh told Star Sports.
\n\u201cThere is no doubt that when a player scores runs, he makes better decisions. Let\u2019s hope that Rohit Sharma scores some runs so that his captaincy gets better.\u201d
\nPujara, who was player of the series when India became the first Asian team to win a test series in Australia in 2018-19, said getting some runs under the belt could turn Rohit into a more proactive leader.
\n\u201cWhen a captain is out of form, it affects his captaincy as well,\u201d Pujara told the broadcaster. He also advised Rohit, a naturally attacking opener, to shun risks early in his knock.
\n\u201cHe is going through some bad form. But even then the start is very important for him,\u201d Pujara said.
\n\u201cHe should focus on getting his first 20 or 30 runs steadily. After that, he can capitalise on the start and convert it into a big score.\u201d
\nKL Rahul opened for India in the first two tests but may return to middle order for the remainder of the series with Rohit reclaiming the opener\u2019s slot alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal.
\nThe third test in Brisbane begins on Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW DELHI India skipper Rohit Sharma\u2019s woeful batting form is affecting his captaincy in Australia, according to former teammates Harbhajan Singh and Cheteshwar Pujara. Rohit has only one half-century in his last 12 test innings, which include eight single-digit scores, and batting in the middle order in the second test brought no relief for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-448845","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n