Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has spoken about India captain Rohit Sharma missing the first ODI against Australia. Gavaskar’s statements came after India lost the third ODI and the series on Wednesday. The former India batter said that Rohit needs to be with the team in every game as it is World Cup year. Gavaskar further said that as Rohit missed the first ODI due to family commitments, it’s forgivable. But he should know his priorities well.
Notably, Rohit missed the first ODI against Australia as he had to attend a family function.
“I think he needs to play every game. You can’t have a captain who is there for one match and not there for the rest. It is so important. It can happen to any other player but I think, I know it was a family commitment, so he had to be there. That’s understandable,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
“When it comes to the World Cup, you can’t have a family commitment; it’s as simple as that. Maybe before that, finish everything that you have unless it’s an emergency. Emergency is something completely different,” he further stated.
The former India captain also explained the rationale behind his statement. Gavaskar said that the captain needs to be with the team as it helps maintain continuity in leadership. “You need continuity in leadership. There’s a feeling that you have got everybody with you, otherwise, there are two leaders. Then there are two leaders that the team is looking at,” Gavaskar added.
India lost the three-match ODI series against Australia 1-2 as the Steve Smith-led defeated India in the second and third ODI. This was India’s first-ever series defeat at home in the last four years.