“Mark Taylor failed for 1.5 years” - Former India cricketer opens up on Rohit Sharma’s lean patch in BGT 2024-25

Former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu has backed incumbent skipper Rohit Sharma following his failures in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Sidhu pointed out how the Aussies backed erstwhile captain Mark Taylor despite his rough patch for almost 18 months.

The 61-year-old also highlighted how former India captains Sourav Ganguly and Mohammad Azharuddin failed in the red-ball format. Sidhu further suggested Rohit to improve his fitness by citing the example of Virat Kohli.

He added that Rohit’s contributions cannot be deleted after failing for two months while pointing out his white-ball credentials, particularly in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Sidhu said on YouTube (via Sports Tak):

“The fragrance of old and the exuberance of youth is the best combination. If someone is undergoing a bad form for two months, you can’t delete him. His services are for so long. I know you can’t rest on your laurels, you’ve to refresh them with new ones but you’ve to give allowance."

"Mark Taylor failed for 1.5 years but persisted, Azharuddin failed, Ganguly failed eight innings and said, ‘I can fail in eight innings but it takes just one innings for me to come back,'" he continued.

He added:

“Rohit will find a way. The only difference between Rohit and Virat is – he needs to work on his fitness. He’s an exceptional player, pure gold, [he] faced some bruises. You only get diamonds from coal fields.

"The man has fallen behind in Tests but smashed three sixes against Starc in the T20 World Cup. He was batting on 90 when his partner was on 10. Did you forget that? [World Cup heroics)."

Rohit Sharma managed just 31 runs in his last five innings during India's 2024-25 tour of Australia. The 37-year-old has managed 164 runs in his last 15 Test innings, averaging 10.93, including one half-century.

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“What about the other top-five batters?” – Navjot Singh Sidhu defends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

Navjot Singh Sidhu further defended Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli following their failures in 2024-25 BGT citing their heroics in the 2024 T20 World Cup. The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out how the other top five batters failed to deliver in Australia.

He said during the same interaction:

“Six months ago, the duo won the World Cup and now it’s all ODIs. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli won the World Cup. If you keep all the focus on them, what about the other top-five batters? Who showed consistency while facing the Kookaburra red ball? It’s a team game. Blaming is the easiest thing. It’s easy to hurl stones but some use those stones to build a home. They are such people.”

India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3 and crashed out of the race for a spot in the ICC World Test Championship final.