'He has to look himself in the mirror' - Steve Waugh's brutal advice to India captain Rohit Sharma

Legendary cricketer Steve Waugh has opened up about the international career prospect of Rohit Sharma and whether the India cricketer should lead India in Tests or focus purely on his batting aspect. Rohit, India’s ODI and Test skipper, has been struggling with form for a long time now. If his last 15 innings in Test cricket are to be analysed, he has just scored one half-century, which is absolutely poor for a batter of his stature.

Even in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the Mumbai batter was as poor as he could be. He didn’t perform in the three matches he played, and then dropped himself from the last Test, asking Jasprit Bumrah to lead instead. The former Australia captain mentioned a very important thing related to the star Indian cricketer. As per him, Rohit should have a word with his inner self and reassess his performance and form in the red-ball cricket.

"It is totally up to him. He is the only one who can solve that problem. He has got to look himself in the mirror and say, 'Do I still want to be captain or play for India? Am I committed? Am I putting enough time and effort into it?' It is a privilege and an honour to play for your country. You can’t be complacent or relaxed," he was quoted as saying by News18.

Test cricket is the very essence of cricket, says Waugh

Steve Waugh also shed light on the current competition that Test cricket is facing from T20. The shortest form of the sport is fast-paced, which is interesting and thrilling at the same time. However, Test cricket is needed as a sport. Also, the World Cup-winning captain said that it is important to make sure the Test format remains 'healthy'. 

"There is stress on Test cricket, whether it will survive because we need it as a sport. T20 cricket is amazing, great for players and spectators and great for sponsors, but I still think Test cricket is the very essence of cricket. The players I believe still want to play Tests to see how good they can actually be. It’s the ultimate contest. Making sure that it survives and thrives and is healthy is really important," added Waugh.