After India’s six-wicket loss in the second ODI against the West Indies on Saturday, July 29, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt offered a suggestion to India head coach Rahul Dravid. Rohit Sharma, the captain, and veteran Virat Kohli were rested in India’s new starting lineup. In the meantime, Sanju Samson and Axar Patel replaced the veteran batters.
Salman Butt believes that India’s lack of Rohit and Kohli contributed to their potential loss of the match.
The Pakistani cricketer contrasted the present players to those from the 2010s and pushed the young players to improve before the 2023 Cricket World Cup, claiming they haven’t been able to prove themselves in the 50-over game.
Everyone was on their own because it was obvious that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma did not play. The couple’s absence was felt. Before, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, or Yuvraj Singh would handle the batting when Dhoni and other key players took a break. But none of the present players have been successful in making a name for themselves in ODI cricket. Before the World Cup, they must resolve the issue, Butt was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying.
Butt then made a suggestion to Dravid, saying that possibly Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill might open, and that perhaps Rohit Sharma could drop down to number four and join Virat Kohli if the new players underperformed. The 38-year-old claimed that the Indian team has almost four openers and that batting lower in the order will not produce the same results.
“I think the way ODIs are played, if the new players aren’t able to perform on a regular basis, maybe you can have Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill opening, and maybe Rohit Sharma can come one down with Virat Kohli at 4,” the commentator suggested. Once that is done, you can play Suryakumar and other players like KL Rahul. There are three to four players in this team who start, and when they come down, the productivity isn’t the same, the former cricketer continues.
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