Former England captain Michael Vaughan has joined the ongoing debate about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s captaincy styles. According to Vaughan, India might not have lost the first Test against England in Hyderabad if Virat Kohli had been leading the team. The Rohit Sharma-led side suffered a 28-run defeat, marking their first-ever loss at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
In a discussion on the YouTube channel ‘Club Prairie Fire,’ Vaughan addressed whether the result signalled a decline for Indian Test cricket at home or if they missed Kohli and Mohammed Shami. Vaughan, dismissing both options, emphasised the significant impact of Kohli’s captaincy. While acknowledging Rohit’s greatness, Vaughan suggested that the stand-in captain seemed to have “switched off” during the match.
He said, “They missed Virat Kohli’s captaincy massively in Test cricket. 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.”
Vaughan hit hard on Rohit Sharma in his Telegraph
Michael Vaughan reiterated his views in a column for The Telegraph, criticising Rohit’s captaincy as “very, very average.” He pointed out Rohit’s lack of proactivity in manoeuvring the field and making bowling changes during the game against England. Vaughan specifically highlighted Rohit’s inability to counter Ollie Pope‘s sweeps and reverse sweeps, describing him as “clueless” in that regard.
“I thought Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was very, very average. I thought he was so reactive; I don’t think he manoeuvred his field or was proactive with his bowling changes. And he didn’t have any answer to Ollie Pope’s sweeps or reverse sweeps,” Vaughan wrote.
India will look for a turnaround in the second Test against England, starting on February 2 in Visakhapatnam. With hopes of enhancing their position in the World Test Championship points table, the team aims to address the challenges highlighted in the first Test and put forth a stronger performance under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.
