"The pressure is too much on Rohit Sharma" - Former batter’s blunt take on Indian captain ahead of IND vs ENG 2025 ODIs

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma's batting form has come under the scanner following a string of underwhelming performances. Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes the ace opener is under tremendous pressure ahead of the upcoming three-match home ODI series against England and the subsequent 2025 Champions Trophy.

Kaif opined that not just Sharma, but senior batter Virat Kohli would also face some heat. The cricketer-turned-commentator reckoned that things would get tough for the two stars if they failed to deliver in the two crucial 50-over assignments.

With youngsters constantly knocking on the selectors' door, Kaif suggested that Sharma and Kohli must regain their mojo during the England series and the Champions Trophy. Speaking in his latest YouTube video, the 44-year-old said:

"All eyes will be on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The pressure is too much on Rohit Sharma over how long he will continue. If he, and even Virat Kohli, lose form and don't score runs here or in the Champions Trophy, there will be a lot of problems because now the other players are also taking over."

It is worth mentioning that while Rohit Sharma struggled to get going in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test series in Australia, he looked in fine form during India's last ODI series. He was the side's leading run-getter in the away series against Sri Lanka last year, scoring 157 runs across three matches.

India will take on England in the ODI series opener in Nagpur on Thursday, February 6. Kaif emphasized that KL Rahul should be the Men in Blue's first-choice wicketkeeper for the series.

He pointed out that Rahul has done an impressive job in 50-over cricket lately, even performing well at the 2023 ODI World Cup. Emphasizing that Rahul should be picked over Pant as the keeper-batter, Kaif said:

"KL Rahul will be the No. 5. He does a good job there, comes and finishes the match as well. He will also be the wicketkeeper. You'd need to pick one out or Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, but KL Rahul's form is excellent and he did a very good job at the ODI World Cup."

It is worth mentioning that Pant made his ODI return after almost 20 months of the three-match series in Sri Lanka last year. Even during that series, Rahul was picked ahead of Pant for the first two fixtures.

The right-handed batter scored 31 runs across the two matches and made way for Pant in the final fixture. However, Pant failed to fire on his ODI comeback, losing his wicket after scoring just six runs.

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"Having him will make the team quite balanced" - Mohammad Kaif wants skipper Rohit Sharma to play Washington Sundar in IND vs ENG 2025 ODIs

Speaking about India's ODI team, Mohammad Kaif stated that Rohit Sharma should consider playing spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar against England. He mentioned that having an off-spinner will help improve the team's balance.

Kaif highlighted that Sundar can be used in multiple ways as he can also bowl a few overs with the new ball. He added in the aforementioned video:

"I believe that they would probably want to see Washington Sundar. He can bowl with the new ball in the powerplay as well. He is also the only off-spinner in the team and having him will make the team quite balanced."

Kaif's preferred India XI for 1st ODI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar/Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.