Former England captain Michael Vaughan has hit out at Rohit Sharma‘s captaincy in the first Test of the India-England series in Hyderabad.
Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.
India lost the first match of the series against England by 28 runs after being 190 runs ahead in the first innings. Ollie Pope scored a legacy-building 196 in the second innings, filled with sweeps and reverse sweeps to bring England back in the game.
India were guilty of being lethargic on the field as the game went on, and Rohit’s captaincy increasingly came under the scanner. This was India’s second home Test defeat in less than a year. In fact, India haven’t won any of their last three Test matches at home – all of them under Rohit.
Among those who criticised Rohit was Vaughan. Speaking on the YouTube channel, ‘Club Prairie Fire‘, Vaughan said that India missed Virat Kohli’s captaincy and that they wouldn’t have lost the Hyderabad Test with him as their leader.
“They missed Virat Kohli’s captaincy massively in Test cricket,” Vaughan said. “Under Virat’s captaincy that week, India wouldn’t have lost the game. Rohit is a legend and a great player, but I felt he just switched off completely.”
[breakout id=”0″][/breakout]
Earlier this week, Vaughan wrote a column for The Telegraph, where he expressed similar concerns over Rohit’s captaincy in the first Test. “I thought Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was very, very average,” wrote Vaughan.
“I thought he was so reactive, I don’t think he maneuvered his field or was proactive with his bowling changes. And he didn’t have any answer to Ollie Pope’s sweeps or reverse sweeps.”
The Hyderabad Test was the first ever home Test that India lost after taking a 100-plus lead in the first innings. Under Rohit, India have now lost four Tests out of 12, winning six.
The second Test of the series starts in Vizag on February 2. The last time India lost a Test series at home was in 2012 when England beat India 2-1.
