Rohit Sharma is in the team because of his batting, should not lose focus on it due to captaincy: Saba Karim

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma could only aggregate a total of 50 runs in the 3 innings that he played in the three-match T20I series against the Sri Lankan side. Sharma averaged a meager 16.67 and was not in the best of form with the willow in this series.

And now, former Indian cricketer Saba Karim has stated that Sharma is in the side because of his batting. Adding that captaincy is only an additional responsibility, Karim opined that the ‘Hitman’ is primarily in the playing XI because of his batting only.

Karim also said that there have been occasions when captains have been unable to perform in their primary department because of the additional responsibility of leading the side.

“Rohit Sharma is in the XI because of his batting. Captaincy is an additional responsibility. He should not lose focus with regards to batting. Lot of times we have seen that captains are not able to perform as well in their primary skill. This should not happen,” said Saba Karim while speaking on Khelneeti.

This is just the starting phase for Rohit Sharma: Saba Karim

Saba Karim also said that Rohit Sharma is just starting out as the Indian skipper and he will realise how important his contributions with the bat are for his team. Adding that Rohit’s performance will be crucial for the Indian side during the 2022 T20 World Cup, Karim concluded by stating that the ‘Hitman’ needs to work on improving his batting skill.

“This is just the starting phase for Rohit Sharma. He will gradually realize how important his runs are for the team. His performance will be crucial in Australia (during the T20 World Cup), where the grounds are big and the opposition have top-quality bowlers. So yes, Rohit Sharma needs to work on this area,” concluded Saba Karim.