Pakistan’s former all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has said that Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s stint as the skipper of the Men In Blue cannot go on “for too long” despite him leading the team unbeaten to the Super 4s of the Asia Cup.
In conversation during an expert panel on PTV Sports, Hafeez said that when he saw Sharma’s body language during the toss against Pakistan, he was “weak, confused, and terrified”.
Hafeez claimed that he could not see the “Sharma who loved to play cricket and enjoyed the game”.
The former skipper said, in his opinion, Sharma’s captaincy stint was increasing the pressure on him and he is facing several difficulties as well.
“If you see his form, it is declining; if you take a look at his recent IPL stint, it was bad, and after that when he came to international cricket, his form hasn’t come back yet,” he said.
Hafeez said despite Sharma’s vows to play positively, neither the team nor his form and body language were backing the claims. “It’s easy to talk, but following up on it is not easy.”
“I feel that it will be tough for Rohit to continue his captaincy. I don’t think he can hold on for too long. I know this from experience that when you are a captain, there are several pressures on you.”
“He can still perform good for India, but since he became captain, his [performance] has gradually gone down.”
India have moved into the Asia Cup Super Four stage with a comfortable win over Hong Kong and after defeating Pakistan in their opening match.
