India defeated Nepal in a rain-interrupted game on Monday, 4 September to reach the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup 2023. Captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill notched up a 147-run partnership for the opening wicket to register a comprehensive victory.

Asia Cup 2023, IND vs NEP: Match Report

Sharma, remained not out at 74 off 59 balls and guided the team home against the associate nation. The batter took a while to get his eye in, in tricky conditions but later unleashed his usual self, notching up some rapid runs. Sharma spoke about his innings and said that he was not really happy with his innings.

“Not really (happy with the knock), some nerves to start with but once I got my eye in, I wanted to get the team home,” Sharma said in the post-match presentation.

While the Indian captain might not have liked his knock, former cricketers Wasim Jaffer and Robin Uthappa want Rohit to get away from his aggressive template and want him to spend some time in the crease.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, both argued that Rohit Sharma has a lot of time in his hands and can always make-up for the lost time later in the innings.

“In 50 over cricket, Rohit can take a bit of time. No need to rush in the first 10 overs and then he can find plenty of spaces. He is one of the better strikers in the world, he makes hitting sixes look easy. So scoring runs is not a problem once he is set,” Jaffer said while speaking on ESPNcricinfo.

Uthappa on the other hand argued that the ultra-aggressive style did not suit Rohit Sharma and hoped that he would get away from that template in ODI cricket.

“What is heartening to see that Rohit Sharma last year started playing cricket in a certain way, which was not in my humble opinion the best for him. He was in this uber-aggressive approach, which I thought was against the approach of how he usually bats. He usually is someone who likes to get set and then makes up for the lost time and in today’s game you could see he did that. I hope that he sticks to what works for him,” Uthappa said while speaking on the same panel.

India will next play Pakistan on 10 September, Sunday.