Virat Kohli's demotion on cards? Rohit Sharma speaks on batter's poor form ahead of T20 WC semi-final

India captain Rohit Sharma opened up about the poor form of Virat Kohli in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 ahead of the semi-final against England. He said that they back all their players and they rely on the individuals to make the decisions related to their shot-making.

Virat Kohli has failed to deliver goods in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. This comes as a surprise for many because the batter was in a red hot form and something similar was expected from him. He scored 741 runs while opening the innings for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Virat Kohli was trusted with the opening role in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 but it didn't pay off as he failed to get going both in the league stage as well as the Super 8. In the six innings, he has managed just 66 runs, which reflects his poor campaign so far.

In the last game against Australia, Virat Kohli bagged a five-ball duck. This was his second duck in the tournament and he is one of only two Indian cricketers to record two ducks in a single T20 World Cup edition. The other being Ashish Nehra, who achieved the feat in 2010.

Ahead of the semi-final against England, Rohit Sharma while talking about the form of Virat Kohli, highlighted that conditions haven't been easy for batting and they need to bat according to the situation while ensuring they score runs as well. Speaking to reporters, he explained:

"No, it all depends on the conditions that are there in front of us. I know it sounds boring for me to talk about conditions, conditions because that do matter a lot

"In New York, we saw what the winning score was so to think we will go and smash is not sensible. We want to be a smart cricket team. We don't want to just talk in one language which is to just go and swing the bat."

I have spoken about experience in this group and we rely on that experience from each player - Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma further added that he has talked about the experience in the group and has given a free hand to all the individuals to make the decision. He also talked about his captaincy mantra, saying that he needs to back the decisions he has taken once the game has started.

"I think it is important for us to understand the conditions and what we need to do at that time. And I have spoken about experience in this group and we rely on that experience from each player. To go out and make that decision. Whether it is playing the reverse sweep, whether it is bowling a yorker or whether it is bowling a bouncer. We rely on those individuals to make that decision."

"As a captain or coach, once the game has started, there is hardly you need to talk about what you need to do. Yes, certain aspects of the game, you can discuss but not a whole lot. We got to back them."

The semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2024 between India and England is all set to take place on Thursday (27th June) at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.