Former India captain Kapil Dev believes that the Men in Blue skipper Rohit Sharma needs to work on his fitness levels. Speaking to ABP News, the 1983 World Cup winner said Rohit looks “a bit overweight, at least on TV”. Kapil also praised former India captain Virat Kohli for maintaining his fitness levels and said Sharma could take some inspiration from his teammate.
Speaking ahead of the third Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia, Kapil Dev said, “It is very important for any player to be fit. More so for a captain. It’s a shame if you are not up to the mark as far as fitness levels are concerned. Rohit needs to put some hard work on his fitness.”
The legendary all-rounder continued, “Rohit is a great batter but when you talk about his fitness levels, he looks a bit overweight, at least on TV. Yes, I realise it’s different when you look at someone on TV and in real life. But from whatever I see, Rohit is a great player and a great captain, but he needs to get fit. Look at Virat, whenever you see him, you say, ‘that’s some fitness!'”
This is not the first time Kapil Dev has raised questions on Sharma’s fitness. Last month, the former India all-rounder had said that while the right-handed opener had “no shortcomings”, there was “a huge question mark over his fitness”.
“I can say with surety that there is a huge doubt over Rohit’s fitness. He has faced a lot of criticism for not scoring well since he became the captain. I kind of agree with it but I don’t believe there is any issue with his cricketing skills. He is a very successful batter. If he gets fitter, the entire team will rally around him,” Dev had said.
Under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, India have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The team won the fixtures against Australia in Nagpur and Delhi with consummate ease. In the first Test, Sharma had slammed a century, his ninth in the format. The right-handed opener had scored 32 and 31 runs in the two innings of the Delhi Test.
Rohit Sharma will once again captain the Indian side for the third Border-Gavaskar Test, starting 1 March at Indore’s Holkar Stadium.
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