The England cricket team may have been considered as underdogs at the beginning of the 5-match test series but they made a great start to the series by winning the first test match which they played against India at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
Many former cricketers slammed the Indian team for their lackluster approach and skipper Rohit Sharma was also criticized for his captaincy.
The former English cricketer Monty Panesar felt that the Indian cricket team lacked the intensity of Virat Kohli who has pulled out of the first two test matches due to personal reasons. Not just this, Monty also said that Rohit Sharma was clueless.
Here’s what Monty Panesar said in an interview, “It is a very big victory, no one even imagined this was even possible. Everyone thought that England would lose after a 190 deficit but Ollie Pope had a brilliant inning, one of the best innings we have seen in a long time and Rohit Sharma was clueless. India need to stop giving the freedom that the England players are getting.”
He further added, “If Virat Kohli was playing he would have been in the faces of these England players and told them ‘Hey, do it again let’s see how good you are’. This is an England team who are not scared of losing, they don’t scare if they lose. In the next four games, they (England) would still play without the fear of failure. Virat Kohli has that presence and intensity, which is missing currently in the India team. Virat Kohli has that aura and presence. If England win the next Test match then India will be in big trouble. This is a big moment for Rohit Sharma, he needs to show that he can turn around the match without Virat Kohli.”
Do you agree with Monty Panesar?
