Rohit Sharma’s ultimatum for KL Rahul with ‘Sarfaraz’ reminder amid criticism

KL Rahul once again finds himself in a major spot. With Sarfaraz Khan scoring a century and Shubman Gill expected to make a comeback in the second Test, it needs to be seen what the team management opts to do, and who is eventually dropped between KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan to make way for Shubman, who has recovered from a neck spasm. After India lost the opening Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru, Rohit Sharma addressed the situation involving Rahul, Gill and Sarfaraz.
While Sarfaraz scored 150 runs in the second innings of the first Test, KL Rahul disappointed with the bat in hand as he returned with scores of 0 and 12. Rohit Sharma has now said that everyone in the team knows where they stand in their careers and what needs to be done.
“Look, I am not the person who talks to individuals, after every game. They know where they stand in their game, where they stand in their career. We don’t change our mindset based on one game, one series. The messages are thrown at quite early, at the start, and they know exactly where they stand and what the situation is of the team. I don’t think I am going to talk anything different from what I have been talking with them,” Rohit said at the post-match press conference.
“It’s pretty simple, anybody who gets an opportunity, will have to try and make an impact on the game. That is a simple message that we keep talking about and it is always nice to have these type of players waiting to play the game. It was unfortunate that Shubman missed this game, Sarfaraz got the opportunity and he scored a big hundred. It’s a good sign for the team,” he added.
Talking about the match, New Zealand chased down the total of 107 inside 28 overs to help the Kiwis gain a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Rachin Ravindra and Will Young ensured that there is no collapse in the fourth and final innings.

As a result, New Zealand registered their first Test win in India after a gap of 36 years. The last time they had won in India, was 1988 under the leadership of John Wright. The BlackCaps have now won just three Tests in India.
Speaking about the loss, Rohit said, “We wanted to fight back and stay in the game as long as possible and not to give it to the opposition that easy. After Dat 1, nothing went our way, we got bowled out for 46 and they were 190/3. It was important to not let them get ahead, but that partnership between Rachin and Tim Southee actually went a little ahead than what we thought.”
“Second innings with the bat, it felt we were ahead in the game at one stage, it did not feel like we were 350 runs behind. That’s something I am really proud of. It shows the mindset is clear and guys want to play with freedom. All in all, except that first couple of hours, we played very good Test cricket,” Rohit added.
At the post-match press conference, Rohit Sharma also said that “those three hours” when they were bundled out for 46 in the first innings of the first Test, won’t define what Indian team is.
““I am not going to look too much into this Test match honestly because those three hours are not going to dictate what this team is. You know, because it will be unfair to think about those three hours and start judging players and talk slightly differently,” said Rohit.
“It’s important to keep a consistent message in the group. We really found a way to come back into this game with the bat in the second innings. Of course, we lost a Test match. But I feel a lot of good things have happened in this game,” he added.