India captain Rohit Sharma has not been able to live up to the billing in the England Test series. Sharma has not scored a single fifty in the four innings and that has put pressure on the relatively young middle-order of the Indian team.

In the first Test match of the series, Sharma was seen getting out while trying to hit a big shot. Sharma got a gem of a delivery from James Anderson in the second innings of the Vizag Test match and continued his poor patch. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has said that Sharma needs to take it a little slow as a leader and as a captain.

IND vs ENG: Rohit lauds Bumrah

Critics and fans have had mixed reviews for the Indian captain. While many hve praised Rohit’s use of Bumrah, there are several who have pointed out at the ‘poor’ use of Ravichandran Ashwin.

“I just wonder whether Rohit Sharma is getting too caught up in trying to make an impact as a leader. It’s got to be Rohit Sharma the batter first and then the captain because when you’re captain, most things are beyond your control,” Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.

The former India batter further said that Rohit should probably follow MS Dhoni’s mantra in cricket – where the former India captain used to trust the process instead of rushing in to make results.

“Try and do the right things and hold the words of MS Dhoni. You do the process and wait for things to happen, but batting is something that’s within his control very much,” Manjrekar said.

“If Rohit Sharma becomes the Rohit Sharma for a couple of years back, especially the one that we saw in England in that full series would be great. The Rohit Sharma that we saw in the first Test match in the home series against Australia. He’s got to go back to where he looked like a batter who looked supreme in Test matches. We want Rohit Sharma getting runs,” Manjrekar concluded.

India will play the third Test match of the series on 15 February.