IND v SL: 'He Won't Be Happy With 30-40 Runs'- Sanjay Bangar Says Rohit Sharma Needs To Show Restraint

Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has said that new India Test captain Rohit Sharma needs to show restraint while batting and that he will not be happy with below-par scores. This came after he fell for 29 runs in the first innings of the first against Sri Lanka underway in Mohali.

India decided to bat after Rohit Sharma, in his debut as Test captain, won the toss. While the home team decided to play three spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jayant Yadav and two pacers in Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah; the opposition went with just one specialist spinner Lasith Embuldeniya in their XI.

Meanwhile, the openers Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal added 52 runs for the opening wicket, before Rohit fell to Lahiru Kumar, trying to pull him and getting out at long leg, caught by Suranga Lakmal for 29 runs in 28 balls with 6 amazing fours.

He Has To Analyze His Shot-Making: Sanjay Bangar On Rohit Sharma

Analyzing his dismissal in Star Sports during the lunch break, former India opener Sanjay Bangar drew parallels to the opener’s brilliant outing in the Test series against England last year, stating that the Indian captain needs to display a similar amount of self-control.

“The way he showed restraint during the England series against the deliveries outside off, it shows that he can control his instincts even if it means he cannot play his favorite shots anymore. In this innings, he scored two fours in an over and got another two fours in the next, so he trusted the bounce,” the former India batting coach said.

Bangar then said that the India captain needs to think over his shot-making.

“He is known for big scores. He won’t be happy with 30-40 runs, so he has to analyze his shot-making. He will have to think about whether he has to go for successive boundaries, or be aggressive,” Bangar said.

Rohit Sharma became the 35^th  Indian to captain the side in Tests, while Virat Kohli appeared in his 100^th Test match and also completed his 8,000 runs in the format during his knock of 45 runs.

Also Read: IND vs SL: Virat Kohli Achieves Another Milestone, Completes 8000 Test Runs In His 100th Test