‘That is something he would be concerned about’ – Abhishek Nayar’s interesting take on Rohit Sharma amid ENG vs IND 2026 ODIs

Abhishek Nayar said that Rohit Sharma failing to convert his start in the second ODI against England will be a concern for him. The former India head coach said that Rohit’s decision to give himself time in the middle was the correct decision as the ball was seaming around.

Rohit consumed 47 balls to score 26 runs in the second ODI at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. However, Nayar said that he wasn’t concerned with Rohit’s strike rate. The former India assistant coach mentioned that the only time Rohit looked under a bit of pressure was when he played the 18th over of the innings, bowled by Sam Curran, for a maiden. Nayar stated that Rohit would be concerned only because he failed to convert his start into a substantial score.

“Conditions are important. You have to respect the conditions. In this game, the ball was seaming, doing a bit, so you expect Rohit Sharma to take time as he is not playing all formats. He also understands and will reflect. After a point, after Sam Curran’s over, it looked like he was under pressure. Other than that, I felt the tempo was fine. I am not so worried about the strike rate. But normally, when he gets to 26, he does make a 50 from there. So that is something he would be concerned about,” Nayar said on Star Sports’ segment ‘Game Plan’.

Rohit got out trying to play a sweep against Will Jacks and miscued it to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. The Kolkata Knight Riders’ head coach opined that Rohit doesn’t get out to off-spinners too often and if he gets into a good headspace, things will fall in place for him.

“Rohit does not get out a lot against off-spinners. But he got out because it looked like he was sort of stuck for runs. So more than skill, it’s the mind. But he is batting well, so I am not concerned,” he added.