Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, two stalwarts of the Indian cricket team, are not playing the ongoing second ODI against West Indies in Bridgetown. With the Indian batting unit faltering for the second consecutive time in the series, the two legends got compared to superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan with respect to a particular scene from Siddharth Anand’s blockbuster movie titled ‘Pathaan’.
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Put in to bat by West Indies captain Shai Hope, India got bundled out for 181 in 40.5 overs in an absolutely lacklustre display of batting at the Kensington Oval today. With the team management opting to experiment with the batting order for the second time across as many matches and days at the same venue, they seem to be at sixes and sevens at the moment.
Reserve batters, each one of whom received an opportunity of batting on Saturday, failed to do justice to both a chance of impressing one and all and their potential. As a result, it was but obvious for the Indian fans to miss both Sharma and Kohli. For the uninitiated, the two were severely demoted in the batting order for the same reason in the first ODI as well.
Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli Get Compared To Shah Rukh Khan And Salman Khan’s Iconic ‘Pathaan’ Scene
Known for his amusing and engaging content, former India batter Wasim Jaffer took to social media platform Twitter to take a sly dig at rookie Indian batters for not being able to deliver against a bowling attack which isn’t even qualified to partake in ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
Jaffer drew parallels between the two cricketers and actors whilst referring to Salman’s cameo in Shah Rukh’s comeback movie released earlier this year. The scene being talked about highlights how modern-day actors don’t have it in them to replace Shah Rukh and Salman. Similarly, contemporary cricketers are still not adept enough to take the place of Sharma and Kohli in the Indian cricket team as per Jaffer.
Rohit and Virat watching from the dressing room. #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/fyGeFureme
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 29, 2023
One of the most liked sequences in Pathaan, the post-action part where the two actors talk to each other was even emulated weeks after the release of the movie in a teaser for Farhad Samji’s web-series titled ‘Pop Kaun?’.
Should Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli Play The Third ODI?
Ideally, yes. If not for anything, just to provide some consistency to a team which doesn’t promise a lot these days.
“They can be fresh for the third ODI,” India stand-in captain Hardik Pandya had said at the toss stating how Sharma and Kohli were rested after playing “constant cricket” lately. The decision, however, was still bemusing considering how less than a dozen ODIs are remaining before the World Cup.
With there being ambiguity around the Indian team’s combination for the world event due to respective injuries to a few key players, the Sharma-led team shouldn’t dare to make chopping and changes to the Playing XI on a regular basis knowing how the same has backfired in the past as well.
Sharma, in particular, hasn’t been in the best of ODI forms of late. At a time when he should be not only playing but opening the batting in each and every match irrespective of the opposition or situation, the 36-year old player resting himself is senseless to say the least.
