Last Updated:
Rohit Sharma may not have played a big innings in Champions Trophy so far but Gambhir Gambhir is unperturbed and instead lauded the India captain’s intent.
Rohit Sharma scored 28 off 29 against Australia in the Champions Trophy semifinal. (AP Photo)
The Indian team is in the final of another ICC white-ball tournament. The ongoing Champions Trophy is the third straight global event after 2023 ODI World Cup and 2024 T20 World Cup that India have reached the final of. While the team’s performances in the four matches that have helped them reach the summit clash might have been impressive, the numbers put up by their captain Rohit Sharma appear underwhelming.
However, India head coach Gautam Gambhir has defended Rohit’s batting display in the competition so far and pointed out the aggressive intent shown by the vastly experienced opener that has helped set a good platform.
Rohit scored 36-ball 41 in India’s tournament opener against Bangladesh at a strike-rate of 113.89. Against Pakistan, he scored 20 off 15 at a strike-rate of 133.33.
Then against New Zealand, the 37-year-old made 15 runs at a strike-rate of 88.24 and in the semifinal against Australia, he made 28 off 29 at a strike-rate of 96.55.
During a media interaction on Tuesday, Gambhir said the team evaluates a player by the impact he has made unlike journalists and experts who he claimed only rely on ‘runs and averages’.
“See, the final of the Champions Trophy is coming up. What can I say before that? If your captain plays with such tempo, it just gives a very good signal to the dressing room that we want to be absolutely fearless and courageous. You evaluate (a player’s performance) with runs, we evaluate with the impact. That’s the difference. You evaluate by the stats, we evaluate by impact,” Gambhir said.
“As journalists, as experts, you only look at the numbers and the averages. But as a coach, as a team, we don’t look at numbers or averages. If the brand of cricket we are trying to play and the captain puts his hand up first, nothing better than that inside the dressing room,” he added.
India have entered the final of the Champions Trophy for the fifth time in their history and will face either New Zealand or South Africa in the title clash this Sunday.
For more in-depth coverage of the Champions Trophy, check out the latest Points Table to see where your favorite team stands. Stay updated on the tournament’s top performers with the Most Runs and Most Wickets leaderboards. Keep following for all the latest updates!
- Location :
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
