Asia Cup 2022: Rohit Sharma Reveals Why Deepak Hooda Didn't Bowl Despite Hardik Pandya Going For Runs Against Sri Lanka in Asia Cup

On the eve of the T20 World Cup, which will start on October 16, Rohit Sharma evaluated India’s loss to Sri Lanka in their pivotal Asia Cup Super 4 match and expressed confidence that he would have “all the answers” to his team’s issues.

India was on the verge of collapse after their second narrow loss in the Super 4 stage. Rohit Sharma rose above the difficult conditions to score 72 off 41 while others managed just 93 off 79, but Sri Lanka dragged India back at the death, conceding just 38 in the last four overs.

We Ended Up On The Wrong Side: Rohit Sharma

Speaking after the game, Rohit said that his team’s inability to set a higher goal was due to the middle order’s poor shot selection. He also commended Sri Lanka’s self-assurance. He lamented Avesh Khan’s absence and provided context for the choice of Deepak Hooda. 

“We ended up on the wrong side, just as simple as that. The kind of runs we got, we could have capitalised a bit more. We were 10-15 runs short.

The guys out in the middle need to learn what they need to do and what kind of shot-making can happen. This team was on a good run for a long time, such losses will help us better to learn as a team.

It was a good effort with the ball, considering the start they got. The spinners came out and bowled quite aggressively. In the end, SL held their nerves quite well. (Three seamers?) We thought with the bigger boundary, you can use the spin well. Their right-handers batted for longer periods of time”, he said. 

Come The World Cup, I Want To Be Ready With All Answers: Rohit Sharma

Spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin secured all four wickets. Hardik Pandya, India’s fifth bowler, had another bad day on the field, but curiously, Rohit didn’t toss the ball to Deepak Hooda, who would have been an alternative in the middle, despite all of this. 

“I was thinking of bringing Hooda but it did not work out the way we thought. Avesh has not pulled up that well. He didn’t turn up well. He was quite sick. Ideally, when we start touring, we would like four seamers., But you also try with three. Come the World Cup, I want to be ready with all answers.” 

“Since Hardik came back we always played with three seamers with Hardik being the fourth, but we have to look at all options. We pretty much know now what to deal with regarding our combination. (Long-term worries?) No worries. It is just the two games we have lost back to back.

Since the last WC, we haven’t lost much. We wanted to put ourselves under pressure during this Asia Cup. We are still looking for some answers but when we play a game like this, you get a lot of answers. You have to give a lot of credit to Arshdeep for coming out the way he did at the end,” he further added. 

Chasing a goal of 174 runs, Sri Lanka achieved 174 for four in 19.5 overs thanks to undefeated match-winning performances of 25 runs off 17 balls from Bhanuka Rajapaksa and 33 runs off 18 balls from Dasun Shanaka, respectively.

Pathum Nissanka (52 off 37 balls) and Kusal Mendis (57 off 37 balls) also contributed significant runs. India first scored 173 for eight in 20 overs thanks to Rohit’s effort of 72 runs off 41 balls. For the hosts, Dilshan Madushanka secured three wickets. 

Also Read: Pakistan vs Afghanistan: Match Preview, Asia Cup 2022, Super 4, Match 4