Srikkanth says Rohit Sharma is crucial to the team winning World Cup
Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth believes that batsman Rohit Sharma is important to team winning the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament.
“Rohit Sharma’s return to form is the biggest positive for India after the first game of the tournament,” said Srikkanth in a column for the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“Opening batsmen are crucial at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and Sharma more than anyone has that ability to turn it on. He can go from first gear to fourth gear in an instant and just kick on from there and keep clicking through the gears,” continued Srikkanth.
“For India, having someone who can go and get not just hundreds but even double hundreds is a major asset and also relieves the pressure on Virat Kohli a little.”
This comes after India’s first match in the World Cup where they won against South Africa by six wickets with 230/4. Sharma was the player of the match then with his 122 runs score. He also has the highest one-day international (ODI) score of 264 and two other innings of over 200.
Srikkanth stated that along with left-handed batsman Shikhar Dhawan and team captain Virat Kohli, India's chances of bagging the World Cup trophy has increased. He continued that Sharma scoring over a hundred is a great sign for the team.
“He did not need to ramp it up against South Africa, who had not scored enough runs in Southampton, but that knock will do him a lot of good,” Srikkanth said regarding Sharma’s runs that carried India’s score over the line.
Srikkanth added that having a good and working partnership is important in winning matches more than individual successes.
“I think it is true in all formats that partnerships win matches. You cannot rely on the individuals, and that was very impressive from India to see significant partnerships from a few players.”
The Men in Blue will be playing their second match against Australia on Sunday at The Oval.
India currently has good odds of winning the tournament with +305, following after home team England’s +200.
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