'World Cup Final Loss Doesn't Make Rohit A Bad Captain' - Gautam Gambhir
Rohit Sharma led India to 2023 World Cup final (Twitter)
Gautam Gambhir defended Indian skipper Rohit Sharma over flak received from the fans and experts since the painstaking ICC World Cup 2023 final loss to Australia.
The former opener guarded his ex teammate against the brewing criticism from hurting Indian cricket supporters by highlighting the great work done in the build-up to the summit clash during the marquee quadrennial event.
Rohit led India from the front with astute captaincy and taking the charge at the top of the order against the new ball. The 36-year-old, who was possibly playing his last World Cup, donned the aggressor's avatar and blasted a whopping 597 runs in his 11 innings at a strike-rate nudging close to 130.
Gambhir Lauds Rohit Despite World Cup Setback
Before Men in Blue faltered at the last hurdle in Ahmedabad, they pulled off a remarkable ten-match winning streak under Rohit's captaincy. The mighty juggernaut recorded nine consecutive wins during the league stage and hammered historic nemesis New Zealand in the semifinal played in Mumbai.
Gambhir, who had hailed the Indian side as "champions" before the final, persisted with his stance that Rohit's men should be praised regardless of the result in the summit clash and lauded over the skipper for his role in shaping a winning team.
"Rohit has done a very good job as captain, not easy to win five IPLs, the way India dominated the last World Cup before the final, I told the same, whatever be the result in final, India played like champions & one bad game doesn't make Rohit bad captain - if you call Rohit bad captain or side as bad team then it's not fair," Gambhir told ANI.
Uncertainty has since emerged on Rohit's future as a player and captain in limited-overs cricket. The veteran opener is currently on an extended break and will be skipping the white-ball leg of the marquee trip to South Africa before returning in time for the two-match Test series later this month.
 "Kashish Chadha")
