Sanjay Manjrekar criticizes Rohit Sharma’s technique after his LBW dismissal in Adelaide Test

Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar slammed the Indian captain Rohit Sharma for the way he threw his wicket to Scott Boland in the ongoing Day-Night Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide.

Coming back from the paternity leave, Rohit Sharma dropped himself down to the lower order, and he failed to meet the expectations due to his poor decision-making, playing completely down the wrong line off Scott Boland’s sharp delivery and paying the price on Day 1 of the Pink-ball Test.

Rohit Sharma’s LBW dismissal in Adelaide Test stirs debate on modern defensive techniques

On the fifth ball of the 26th over, Rohit was trapped LBW by Boland with a sharp delivery that nipped back into the right-hander, as half of the Indian cricket team was back in the dugout. Boland delivered a sharp nip-backer that caught Rohit rooted in his crease.

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Actually, the Indian skipper failed to adjust to the inward movement and tried defending from his static position and ended up missing the ball entirely. The ball sneaked past his inside edge and struck him on the front pad in line with the stumps.

After a brief chat with the Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma decided not to review, as the ball-tracking confirmed it was hitting the top of the middle stump. It was the fifth wicket for Team India, as Rohit walked back to the pavilion after scoring 3 runs off 23 balls.

Sanjay Manjrekar calls out Rohit Sharma for failing to adjust to Scott Boland’s ripper

Rohit Sharma's LBW dismissal at the hands of Scott Boland has led Sanjay Manjrekar to highlight the potential decline of defensive batting techniques. The cricket pundit has pointed out a glaring trend in modern cricket: the batters rarely fall LBW while defending on the back foot against seamers.

Sanjay Manjrekar was disappointed to see how Rohit was trapped LBW while playing against Boland in the ongoing Day-Night Test match against Australia. However, the commentator avoided mentioning Rohit in his social media post.

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Taking to his X handle (formerly known as Twitter), Sanjay Manjrekar shared his views by saying, “One glaring piece of evidence of changing defensive techniques is that against seamers, no one gets out LBW on the back foot anymore.”

One glaring evidence of changing defensive techniques is that against seamers, no one gets out LBW on the back foot anymore.

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) December 6, 2024

Going back to a full-length delivery is an error of judgment: Aakash Chopra

Manjrekar’s sharp attack on the Indian skipper has led to a swift counter from Aakash Chopra. The cricket pundit insisted that playing full-length deliveries on the back foot is a clear error in judgment. He emphasized the fundamental principle of front-foot play against deliveries targeting the stumps.

Responding to Sanjay Manjrekar, Aakash Chopra said, “If the ball is finishing below the stumps, it should be played on the front foot, sire. Going back to a full-length delivery is an error of judgment 🙌.”

If the ball is finishing below the stumps, it should be played on the front-foot, sire. Going back to a full length delivery is an error of judgment 🙌

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) December 6, 2024

Notably, the Indian team was bowled out for 180 runs, with Nitish Kumar Reddy being the top scorer for the tourists with 42 runs to his name in the first innings against Australia in the ongoing pink-ball Test in Adelaide. On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Usman Khawaja for 13 runs.