India captain Rohit Sharma was vocal about his disappointment with the broadcaster of the India vs New Zealand ODI series. After Rohit scored his 30th ton in the format, the broadcaster vividly highlighted that it was the veteran batter's first hundred in the format in 3 years. Rohit, at the press conference after the match, expressed his disappointment, suggesting the verdict doesn't paint the correct picture as he has played only a handful of ODI games in that period. Now, Ravichandran Ashwin has joined Rohit, demanding a better take on the 'perception'.
"Rohit Sharma raised a beautiful topic about broadcasters, saying that they should be responsible when it comes to putting out facts to the common people. I have spoken a lot about this perception, how it can formulate into an opinion," R Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.
"If you keep on telling that there was a 3 year-gap, 4-year gap to the fans... fans, who are keen, and selectors and others who are part of the system, they know what's the truth. But if you look at a commoner's perspective, if you force such information on them, they would think 'yeah, he hasn't scored runs. So many new ones are scoring. Remove him'," he opined.
Ashwin said that Rohit was right to take up the issue with the broadcaster, suggesting they should be highlighting such 'facts' more responsibly. The veteran off-spinner also pointed out how formidable Rohit has been in the 50-over format, particularly scoring 5 centuries in the 2019 World Cup.
"That's why Rohit Sharma said the broadcasters should deal with such things more responsibly.
"In the 2019 World Cup, he scored one hundred after another. He was the player of the Tournament in the ODI World Cup. In the last 10-15 years, there's nothing to question Rohit Sharma's performance in limited-overs cricket," Ashwin said.
"In fact, he had scored 34 off 38. He took on the mantle, he started hitting the opposition bowlers. He reduced the pressure on his batting partners. Even when talking about that innings 'yet another failure for Rohit Sharma' was the talk in the show. It was surprising," Ashwin further said.
With the selectors giving more chances to youngsters in T20Is, Rohit will now be seen in action in the 4-match Test series against Australia next month.