Shastri Calls Rohit Sharma's Decision to Take New Ball a Blunder

image-lf26x80kRohit Sharma's decision to take the second new ball has garnered widespread criticism (Twitter)

In the ongoing fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia at the esteemed Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Rohit Sharma's captaincy has proven to be a double-edged sword.

While the Indian captain demonstrated shrewdness in his handling of the pacers, his move to take the second new ball during the final moments of Day 1 proved to be a misstep, eliciting severe criticism from former Indian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri.

With Australia standing at 201/4 after 81 overs, the Test match hung in the balance as Cameron Green and Usman Khawaja were building a partnership in the post-Tea session. That’s when the Indian skipper decided to take the new ball.

Green and Khawaja capitalized on the second new ball to up their scoring rate, ultimately shifting the momentum in the visitors’ favour. Unfortunately, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami were unable to deliver, and Australia were able to amass 54 runs in nine overs against the second new ball, ending the day's play at 255 for 4.

During Day 2's commentary, Shastri, who recently clashed with Rohit over labelling the Indian team 'overconfident,' expressed his belief that India had lost their way by opting for the new ball.

"I think India lost the plot last night. Taking the new ball was not the right thing to do considering Umesh is 35, Shami is not getting any younger. They had bowled a lot. They were getting tired. A shorter burst with two overs is fine. But taking the new ball as early as that let Australia get away," Shastri said on commentary during Day 2.

The former coach emphasized the need for the Indian captain to put on his thinking cap and marshal his resources while captaining on good batting tracks such as the one in Ahmedabad. 

“As a captain, you've got to put your thinking cap on, and marshall your resources. It's one thing captaining in India, one thing captaining overseas and one thing captaining in India on good tracks like these. He has all the skills, this is the exposure that he needs,” the 60 year old concluded.

After a long thumping by Khawaja and Green, India got a sigh of relief when their lead-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin snapped 3 quick wickets, sending the centurion all-rounder, Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc back to the hut. However, the opener batter is still standing tall in Ahmedabad.