Former Team India Coach Critiques Rohit Sharma's ‘Subdued’ Body Language In India’s 10-Wicket Loss To Australia

Former India coach Ravi Shastri called out Rohit Sharma’s subdued body language during India's 10-wicket loss to Australia in the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test.

Former Team India coach Ravi Shastri critiqued Indian team captain Rohit Sharma’s body language, calling it ‘subdued’ during India’s 10-wicket thrashing by Australia in the second IND vs AUS Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 on December 8 (Friday) in Adelaide. After losing to India by a record 295-runs in the series-opener, Australia posted a resounding performance and levelled the five-match series 1-1.

Rohit Sharma, who missed out the first IND vs AUS Test at Perth, made a return to the Indian side and despite taking the opening slot, positioned himself at number 6. Rohit Sharma managed scores of just three and six in the Test and appeared to be low in confidence, reflected in his body language.

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Rohit Sharma Was Too Subdued In Adelaide: Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri emphasised the importance of a more aggressive and expressive approach from Rohit Sharma, suggesting that he appeared ‘subdued’ and lacking involvement. 

"That's the reason I want him at the top. That's where he can be aggressive and expressive. Just thought he was a little too subdued, just seeing his body language. The fact that he didn't make runs, I don't think there was enough on the field there. I just wanted to see him more involved, and a little more animated. You still have to believe that you can bounce back in this series. You have seen with these two teams, that the counter-punch is almost immediate. It's happened over the last 10 years. You lose one, you win the next, but you have to have the belief," Ravi Shastri told the broadcasters.

Ahead of the Adelaide Test, Rohit told reporters that he didn’t want to disturb the opening combination of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who played a massive part in India’s win at Perth and that’s why he would be batting in the middle-order in Adelaide.

"I like the choice of words by Pat Cummins in Perth. He said we weren't good enough, but we weren't as bad as the scoreboard showed. The reason I say good choice of words is because it wasn't about what people said or what was written about, it was about what the scoreboard showed. I think India can take a leaf out of that. It would mean Rahul would go back to the middle order. But that's what he was going to do if Rohit Sharma had started from the first Test itself," Shastri said.