Asia Cup 2023: Robin Uthappa, Wasim Jaffer Urge Rohit Sharma To Give Up On New Batting Style

Captain Rohit Sharma starred with the bat as Team India thrashed Nepal by 10 wickets (DLS method) to storm into the Super 4 of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023.

Nepal did put India in a spot of bother in the must-win clash after making a good start with the bat. Their openers added 65 runs for the first wicket before India reduced them to 144 for 6. However, Sompal Kami’s 48-run knock helped the Asia Cup debutants post a challenging total of 230 runs on a tricky Pallekele pitch.

India’s innings was interrupted by rain and they were eventually given a target of 145 runs in 23 overs. Captain Rohit Sharma made sure that there were no hiccups in the run chase as he scored a quickfire unbeaten fifty to take India home.

He and his opening partner Shubman Gill shared a unbeaten stand of 145 runs for the first wicket to power India to a thumping victory. Rohit Sharma scored an unbeaten 74 off 59 balls while Gill scored 67 off 62 balls.

Rohit Sharma need to spend time:

Speaking at the end of the game, Rohit Sharma had said that he was not entirely happy with his knock because of the way he started his innings. The India star struggled to time the swinging deliveries before finding his rhythm.

And as Rohit Sharma complained about his knock, former cricketers Wasim Jaffer and Robin Uthappa have come up with an important piece of advice for the India star. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, the former cricketers have urged Rohit Sharma to get away from his aggressive template and spend some time in the crease. In recent times, the right-handed batsman has tried to go after the bowlers right from the start.

“In 50 over cricket, Rohit can take a bit of time. No need to rush in the first 10 overs and then he can find plenty of spaces. He is one of the better strikers in the world, he makes hitting sixes look easy. So scoring runs is not a problem once he is set,” Jaffer said.

On the other hand, Uthappa said: “What is heartening to see that Rohit Sharma last year started playing cricket in a certain way, which was not in my humble opinion the best for him.

“He was in this uber-aggressive approach, which I thought was against the approach of how he usually bats. He usually is someone who likes to get set and then makes up for the lost time and in today’s game you could see he did that. I hope that he sticks to what works for him.”

India’s next Asia Cup clash in on Sunday (September 10). The Men in Blue will lock horns against arch-rivals Pakistan.