T20 World Cup 2022: "They were a bit tentative" - Anil Kumble on Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul's failures in India vs Pakistan clash

Former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble has shared his views on Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul's failures against arch-rivals Pakistan at the T20 World Cup in Melbourne on Sunday (October 23).

He feels that the openers were a bit tentative against Pakistan pacers after watching the Indian seamers generate a lot of movement in the first innings, which didn’t happen during the second innings when the Men in Blue came out to bat.

The duo departed for identical figures of four runs, leaving the Men in Blue in a spot of bother at 10/2 in 3.2 overs. KL Rahul played on while facing Naseem Shah and Rohit was caught at slip by Iftikhar Ahmed off Haris Rauf.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Kumble said:

“It didn’t move that much and that’s perhaps why they were a bit tentative. Rahul pushed at it and similarly, Rohit didn’t move his feet. Otherwise, he would have been moving his feet. He was expecting the ball to swing, [but] it didn’t. Generally, the batters make that adjustment within a few deliveries, but unfortunately, they didn’t survive to go on and make those adjustments.”

He added:

“I think it’s only fair to say that the openers were tentative. You could see that Rohit was waiting for the ball to come back in because there was a lot of movement when Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep and Shami bowled for India. So, obviously, knowing that Shaheen can bring the ball back in. They were expecting that to happen.”

It is worth mentioning that Rahul and Rohit also flopped against Pakistan at the 2021 T20 World Cup, scoring three and a duck respectively.

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Anil Kumble defends Axar Patel after 21-run over against Pakistan at T20 World Cup

Kumble also defended left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who didn’t return to bowl after his 21-run over against Pakistan. Iftikhar Ahmed, who smashed a half-century, hit three sixes against the spinner in the 12th over.

The former Indian Test skipper mentioned that Axar is a rare Indian spinner who can bowl during powerplay overs.

“It’s been very difficult to take a decision on Axar's bowling just by one over. I mean, he’ll definitely be useful because he is going to bowl. I certainly look at Axar as someone to bowl in the powerplay as well, which I don’t think many Indian spinners bowl in the powerplay anymore.”

Rohit Sharma and Co. will play against the Netherlands in their next group-stage match of the T20 World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday (October 27).