New Delhi: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli might have suffered a blip in form but should be spoken with reverence rather than disdain for their immense track record and could just return to their usual scoring ways in the ODI series against England, feels Kevin Pietersen.
The two batting heavyweights suffered in India’s 1-3 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar series in Australia that subjected them to extreme criticism, leading to calls for retirement.
Adding to the negativity, was their low scores while turning out in the Ranji Trophy before they checked into the ODI team for three matches against England that begins from Thursday.
“(It’s) unfair. How can you tell somebody who’s scored as many runs as these guys, they must retire? Yes, it’s a discussion and it’s a topic I get it, I understand it, but they deserve more respect than that,” Pietersen said during a promotional event on Tuesday.
Pietersen drew parallels with his own England career when he underwent a love and hate relationship with British media and asked fans to understand that they too are prone to blips.
“Having had exactly the same challenges in my career, it happens. Rohit and Virat are not robots. They don’t walk out there and get a hundred every time they bat. Maybe they had one bad Australian tour. Does that make them bad people? No. Does it make them bad cricketers? Absolutely not,” he said.
‘England will play Chakravarthy better in ODIs’
Pietersen also backed India’s decision to include spinner Varun Chakravarthy in the Indian squad but said the tourists would play him better in the 50-over format.
Chakravarthy took 14 wickets in India’s 4-1 T20I series win after which he was added to the ODI team.
“The English batters would be better against him in the one-dayers because they can spend more time. It’s a longer format, not every ball is an event. But I think it is a great decision (to add Chakravarthy),” the former England batter said.
Pietersen thought that England’s performance in T20Is was a disaster, pointing out that they could have levelled the series in the fourth match in Pune had not been due to concussion substitute of Shivam Dube for Harshit Rana.
“It was a disappointing series from England’s perspective. I think that in the fourth T20I, if the concussion substitution had been done correctly, maybe England would have got up there,” he said.
“It would have been 2-2 coming to the Wankhede (Stadium for final T20I). It would have been way more on the game. But it didn’t happen.”
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli suffered a blip in form in India’s 1-3 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar series in Australia that subjected them to extreme criticism, leading to calls for retirement. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
