Former Pakistan cricket team captain Salman Butt believes that India skipper Rohit Sharma has not performed in pressure situations for quite some time now and he needs to work on it ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023. Rohit had a good outing against West Indies in the Test series but did not play much in the three-match ODI series. He came to bat after India had lost five wickets and was rested for the next two games of the series. Earlier, he missed quite a number of white-ball matches and his last ODI century came in January 2023 when he scored 101 against New Zealand in Indore.
Butt was asked about Ishan Kishan's chances of opening the innings for India in the World Cup and he said that the youngster can be an option if Rohit continues to struggle in white-ball cricket.
“I accept that Rohit is a big player, but some players are there who have been around for a long time but when pressure gets to them, they can't deliver. Especially at the knock-out stages, this is something that has to be worked on,” Butt said during an interaction on his YouTube channel.
Kishan was the top performer for India in the ODI series against West Indies with three half-centuries in three matches. With Rishabh Pant out of contention for the tournament, he is one of the front-runners among wicket-keeper batters to replace him in the India playing XI.
India take on West Indies in a five-match T20I series starting Thursday in Trinidad but the visitors will be led by Hardik Pandya as Rohit was rested along with some other senior cricketers.