'He’s a defensive captain, he’s a negative captain' - Sunil Gavaskar criticizes Rohit Sharma's captaincy approach in IND vs NZ 2nd Test

Former India skipper and well-known commentator Sunil Gavaskar took a slight dig at Rohit Sharma's captaincy approach during Day 1 of the second Test between India and New Zealand in Pune. The legendary batter pointed out the Indian skipper's defensive field placements, particularly during the first play session.

Gavaskar criticized the 19th over of New Zealand's first innings when Washington Sundar was bowling. The former spoke about the placement of fielders at long-on and long-off for spinners before any lofted shots had been played.

“If you had fielders like that – long-on and long-off – for the spinners before a lofted shot had been played, the captain would’ve been called a defensive captain. He’s a defensive captain, he’s a negative captain. Here now you try and block the boundaries. (Once the field changed) This is a good field in the sense that there is a fielder at long-on for - with the turn. The mid-off is inside, which is how it should be," Gavaskar said on air.

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Too defensive in that first session of play; Ravi Shastri

Additionally, former India head coach Ravi Shastri shared similar thoughts during the 48th over, suggesting that the defensive approach played in New Zealand's favor. 

“Too defensive in that first session of play when the ball was gripping. When you have long-on and long-off, I mean just playing it into the hands of the New Zealand batters,” Shastri said.

Despite the defensive field settings, India's spinners managed to make crucial breakthroughs. At the time of writing, the Kiwis were batting on 221/6 after 67 overs. Devon Conway (76) and Rachin Ravindra (65) contributed significantly. Meanwhile, the Indian bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar, claimed three wickets each.