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IND vs BAN: Sunil Gavaskar Questions Rohit Sharma’s Decision To Bat At 9 Despite Valiant Knock

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, who injured his thumb in the second ODI, has been ruled out of the final ODI against Bangladesh and will fly to Mumbai to consult an expert, ahead of the Test series, head coach Rahul Dravid said on Wednesday.

IND vs BAN, IND vs BAN ODI, IND vs BAN 2nd ODI, Rohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma Injury, Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel

Sunil Gavaskar and Rohit Sharma

Mirpur: Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, who injured his thumb in the second ODI, has been ruled out of the final ODI against Bangladesh and will fly to Mumbai to consult an expert, ahead of the Test series, head coach Rahul Dravid said on Wednesday.

The skipper copped an injury to his finger in the second over of Bangladesh’s batting innings while attempting a catch. The ball hit his thumb and he was seen bleeding as he walked off. He didn’t come out to open the innings as well, with Virat Kohli replacing him as Shikhar Dhawan’s partner at the top.

However, with India in dire straits in the run chase, the 35-year-old walked out to bat at No.9, slamming an unbeaten 51 off just 28 balls to take India to the brink off a win. He hit a six with 12 runs needed off two balls, but could not repeat it on the final ball as Bangladesh wrapped up a series victory with the five-run win.

The former Indian cricketer and legend Sunil Gavaskar questioned Rohit Sharma’s approach. He said if Rohit could bat, he should have come to bat a few spots up. He said “Everybody knows the quality and class of the man. And the thing now, when India came so close, is why did he not come in to bat earlier. If he was going to bat at No. 9, then he should have batted at No. 7.”

“What that could have done is, I think, Axar Patel would have played differently. Axar thought that maybe Rohit Sharma won’t bat, and therefore he played that shot. At that stage, there was no need to play that shot. Axar was batting so well, he was picking the ball well, and had he continues, you never know, the outcome could have been different. At No. 9, he almost got India to a memorable win so had he come to bat at 7, India would have had a much better chance,” Gavaskar added.

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