Sanjay Manjrekar, the famous analyst and former cricket player for India, gave advice on how captain Rohit Sharma could bat against Australia in the Champions Trophy 2025 quarterfinal. Notably, the match is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4 in Dubai.
In the coveted ICC mega event, Sharma has failed to turn his bat into a talking point. He has amassed 76 runs in the competition thus far, and the team will be counting on him to lead the Men in Blue when it counts. The 41-year-old should wait in the crease and play for as long as possible to take the game deep, according to Manjrekar, who offered his thoughts on the potential strategy the Indian skipper should employ. The former Indian cricket player highlighted how Rohit may use his stroke-making to his advantage against the Australian spinners in the middle of the game.
“I believe that the main question is how Rohit Sharma approaches the game. Virat Kohli will play as he usually does, Shreyas Iyer will bat as he has been, and Shubman Gill will play as he usually does. Although we won’t see KL Rahul until later, Rohit Sharma can take this as a chance to plan strategically. The Manjrekar
It’s not the type of pitch where you want to score 350 runs. If he stays long enough, Rohit Sharma, who is a good player against spin, might take on all of the spinners. Unlike other batters, his strike rate is actually rather equal against both pace and spin, as we saw earlier in the exhibition. He is therefore motivated to bat a little bit longer,” he continued.
According to Kumble, Rohit Sharma should bat for more than just the first ten overs in order to give India a solid start.
Anil Kumble, the former great Indian legspinner, shared his thoughts with Majrekar on how Rohit Sharma should defeat Australia in the knockout stage. It’s interesting to note that he believed that Team India could score a significant amount against the Men in Yellow if Rohit stayed until the 20th over, even though the big hitter might still choose to play freely at the top of the order in his typical manner without worrying about the outcome.
Indeed, I believe that it would be vital for someone like Rohit Sharma to bat until the twentieth over, particularly in the semi-final. He won’t come in and take his time; instead, he will play his natural game and support himself. It is crucial that he bats not only for the first ten overs but also to help India get off to a good start. “He has done that before, but we want him to do it again and push the innings further,” Kumble said.
In the meantime, Rohit Sharma scored 41 runs against Bangladesh in India’s tournament opener, which speaks to his batting performance thus far in the Champions Trophy. Although he did receive a start, he was unable to turn it into a significant knock. He was then removed on 20 after pacer Shaheen Afridi hit his timber with a sensational inswinging yorker against his bitter foes, Pakistan. He was dismissed cheaply by pacer Kyle Jamieson during the match against New Zealand, continuing his poor run. As a result, whether India bats first or chases in the semifinal, the hitman will be eager to face Australia.
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