ENG vs IND 2018: India Made A Big Mistake Of Not Having Rohit Sharma For The Test Series: Dilip Vengsarkar

Former India batsman Dilip Vengsarkar has said the selectors made a mistake in not picking up Rohit Sharma for the ongoing England vs India Test series.

India lost the fourth Test to concede the five-match series. As usual, poor batting was once again the reason behind yet another loss in overseas Test series. Barring Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara to some extent, almost all the batsmen failed to provide any substantial contribution with the willow.

In the fourth Test, India needed to chase down 245 to draw level. At 123 for 2, they were looking set to chase down the modest target. However, once Moeen Ali accounted for Kohli, the remaining batsmen fell like a pack of cards. Eventually, the team was all out for just 184.

Even in the first innings, the visitors suffered a big collapse. They were 142 for 2 before Kohli’s dismissal triggered another collapse. They soon found themselves 8 down for 195. However, Pujara’s century helped them recover and take a slender 27-run lead. But in the end, the two batting collapses cost them the match as well as the series. The latest performance has only extended India’s woeful batting in overseas Tests.

And Dilip Vengsarkar feels the selectors made a mistake by not picking up Rohit Sharma.

The right-hander lost his place in Test side after the dismal show in South Africa earlier this year. And despite scoring a century in the T20I series as well as in the ODI against England, he did not find a place in Tests.

“I feel India made a big mistake of not having Rohit Sharma for the Test series. I presume Rohit was left out of the squad because he has been inconsistent at the Test match level but having stroke players whose defensive technic is found wanting, followed by batsmen who believe in only defending, Rohit would have been an ideal foil for captain Virar Kohli,” Vengsarkar said.

He further said that the MSK Prasad-led selection panel did not have a back-up plan.

“By discarding him (Rohit), the selectors, it seemed, didn’t apply their minds as to who would succeed in the English conditions and to create a back-up plan,” said the former national selector.

India, meanwhile, will have a chance to salvage some pride in the upcoming Test. The fifth and final Test, a dead rubber, begins on September 9.