Asia Cup 2022: "Rohit Sharma must improve his stats against Pakistan" - Reetinder Sodhi 

Reetinder Singh Sodhi believes that Rohit Sharma's batting form is going to be crucial for Team India for their clash against Pakistan at the upcoming Asia Cup 2022.

During a discussion on India News Sports, Sodhi pointed out that Sharma has a poor record against Pakistan in T20Is. He opined that the right-hander must turn things around this time, or else they might end up losing if they start shakily.

The former cricketer highlighted that the Men in Blue have a power-packed middle order that can up the ante in any given situation. However, he emphasized that the top-order big guns must give them a solid platform to build on.

Sodhi explained:

"Rohit Sharma must improve his stats against Pakistan in T20Is. His form is going to be crucial. You cannot be 10 for 2 of 20 for 3 against Pakistan, or any team in the Asia Cup. We have enough firepower in the batting department.

He added:

"The likes of Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant dominate any bowling attack. But they will need a platform, which Rohit, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli will have to give. We can score 230 if there's a good start."

Former India cricketer and selector Saba Karim also disclosed that the selection committee promoted Sharma as an opener in 2013 because of his ability to counter the pacers.

He suggested that the batter is effective even against fast bowlers who have express pace.

Karim said:

"When Rohit was asked to open, the selectors saw him as the only option who had a lot of time against the pacers. Even if the bowler is bowling over 150 kph, he gets into position very quickly. He can succeed against any bowling attack. This is why I am surprised that he doesn't have a good record against Pakistan in T20Is."

Notably, Sharma has an underwhelming record against Pakistan in T20 cricket. The right-handed batter has managed just 70 runs from eight matches at a dismal average of 14.00 against the opposition.

It is worth mentioning that Rohit Sharma has achieved significant success against Pakistan in ODIs, scoring 720 runs from 16 matches at an impressive average of 51.43. He has two hundreds and six half-centures to his name in these games.

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"Rohit Sharma has struggled against left-arm seamers" - Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma

Speaking in the video, Rajkumar Sharma mentioned that Rohit Sharma has had problems against left-arm pacers. He reckons that a batter does think about it a lot when he gets out to the same type of bowler.

He further added that due to Shaheen Afiridi's knee injury, Pakistan are now left without a left-arm seamer in their attack for the Asia Cup.

He said:

"Rohit Sharma has struggled against left-arm seamers in the past. Fortunately for him, Pakistan don't have any such bowlers this time. It's not that he cannot play left-armers, or that he hasn't done preparations, but it does get in the mind of the player when he constantly gets out to the same type of bowlers."

India and Pakistan will lock horns in the second match of the Asia Cup 2022. The much-awaited match is set to be played on Sunday (August 28) at the Dubai International Stadium.