ICC World Cup 2023: Under-Pressure Rohit Sharma Will Need Other Teammates To Back Him, Says Brad Hogg

Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg has said Rohit Sharma will need the support of his teammates to do well as a captain in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023. It will be Rohit Sharma’s third ODI World Cup as a player and first as a captain.

A lot was expected from Rohit Sharma when he replaced Virat Kohli as the captain of the Indian team. The right-handed batsman took charge of the team after proving himself as a captain in the Indian Premier League where he led Mumbai Indians to a record five IPL titles in just 8 seasons.

Rohit Sharma, however, has failed to live up to the expectations so far. He has already led India in two ICC competitions as well as one Asia Cup but is yet to lead the team to victory. Last year, he led India in the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup and the team failed to do well in both competitions. In June this year, the Rohit Sharma-led side suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Australia in the ICC World Test Championship final.

Brad Hogg on Rohit Sharma the captain:

Rohit Sharma will be under pressure to deliver the World Cup trophy this year. And Brad Hogg believes that Rohit Sharma will need the backing of his teammates in such a tough situation. The World Cup-winning spinner stated that the likes of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will have to step up to make things easier for Rohit Sharma.

“When you are under pressure, you need other teammates to back you. You need Virat Kohli to step up, maybe Rahul behind the stumps as he has got a lot of captaincy experience. Just to help him to take that pressure off. In the bowling department, bowlers need to stand up, make the decisions by themselves,” Brad Hogg told RevSportz.

Speaking further, Hogg recalled the 2003 World Cup where he led Australia’s spin bowling attack after the legendary Shane Warne was banned for a year on the eve of the tournament. Warne faced the ban after failing a routine drug test.

“Going back to the 2003 World Cup, we lost Shane Warne. I was the front-line spinner. There was a lot of pressure on me. We just sat down as to how we would approach the competition. We had done all the preparation. It was how I could benefit the team,” said Hogg.

“I was the weak link in that team. I was entrusted to keep the opposition batsman quiet and take the pressure off the other experienced bowlers. It boils down to who is going to be playing certain roles. So, it was all set up before the tournament actually started. You’ve got your team going in there knowing their exact roles,” he added.

The World Cup is scheduled to begin on October 5. India, on the other hand, will open their campaign on October 8 against Australia in Chennai.