When Shahid Afridi Slammed Rohit Sharma For His 'Poor' Captaincy Record

image-lqqesshpRohit Sharma after India's defeat at the 2023 World Cup final (x.com)

Rohit Sharma was appointed as India’s all-format captain in early 2022, shortly after the conclusion of the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. The cricketer replaced Virat Kohli, who relinquished his leadership duties after the 'Men in Blue' crashed out of the tournament within the opening round itself.

As it turned out, India’s fortunes in ICC events descended further under new leadership as they experienced three tournament losses within a year, including a defeat in the home ODI World Cup in November 2023. India’s unwanted streak under Rohit Sharma commenced with their 10-wicket humiliation at the hands of England at the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.

While numerous Indian cricket fans raised question marks over Sharma’s potential as a leader of the team, former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi also joined the bandwagon by berating the legendary opening batter.


When Afridi questioned Rohit Sharma over captaincy

After Team India slumped to a 10-wicket larruping at the hands of England at the Adelaide Oval in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2022, the former Pakistan skipper questioned Rohit Sharma’s credibility as a leader.

The outcome also extended India’s ICC trophy drought to nine years, considering they had previously lifted a big-ticket title back in 2013 under MS Dhoni’s guidance. 

"These things will now be noticed, when you win these things are brushed under the carpet. Today, India lost and everyone's reflecting on the loss. But if we look closely, the Indian team need a leader after Ganguly and Dhoni. Someone, who leads the team from the front. After Dhoni, they tried Virat but they didn't achieve outstanding results. Right now Rohit is the captain and we still don't see any commendable performances," Afridi had said after India's exit from T20 World Cup 2022. 

Under Rohit Sharma, the Indian team also lost the final of the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final to Australia in June 2023 at the Oval, and suffered a huge six-wicket defeat against the same opponents at the 2023 World Cup.