Rohit Sharma lodges complaint with BCCI over Sunil Gavaskar's criticism on his captaincy during BGT: Report

Team India captain Rohit Sharma has reportedly complained to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials over harsh criticism by former India skipper turned cricket commentator Sunil Gavaskar on his captaincy during the Test series against Australia. 

Rohit Sharma’s captaincy came under heavy scrutiny after India lost three-match Test series against Australia. This was Team India’s second consecutive Test series after the 0-3 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand at home. The 37-year-old had a challenging Test tour of Australia as he failed to deliver his best with the willow. Rohit joined the India squad after missing the Perth opener due to the birth of his second child, but his performance fell short. 

Also read: Rohit Sharma returns to Ranji Trophy: How India captain performed in India's premier domestic tournament?

Rohit managed to score just 31 runs at an abysmal average of 6.2 in five innings. Due to poor form, the Indian skipper decided to opt out of the series decider in Sydney and handed over captaincy to Jasprit Bumrah. Sunil Gavaskar questioned Rohit’s decision not to play the Sydney Test while casting doubts over his future in the longest format of the game. Indian batting legend was of the opinion that it was time for someone to take over the captaincy in the best interest of the team. 

However, the harsh criticism by Sunil Gavaskar didn’t go down well with Rohit Sharma as he reportedly approached BCCI with a complaint, seeking intervention and requesting the board to address the matter. As per the reports by CricBlogger, Team India felt that it was unnecessary and unwarranted by Gavaskar to criticize him in this fashion. 

“Rohit felt that it was not necessary for Sunil Gavaskar to criticize him in that fashion, and that’s why he complained to the BCCI about Gavaskar. All these added so much pressure that he was compelled to tell it all to the BCCI.” a source close to the matter revealed. 

After a disappointing show in the Test tour of Australia, Rohit Sharma returned to play Ranji Trophy on the direction of the BCCI selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar and Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir not only to revive his form but also to retain his place in the longest format of the game. However, Rohit didn’t have an ideal Ranji Trophy, scoring just 3 and 28 runs across two innings as Mumbai shockingly lost to Jammu and Kashmir at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy Ground at BKC in Mumbai on Sunday. 

Following Mumbai’s defeat to Jammu and Kashmir, Sunil Gavaskar questioned Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer’s intentions to play aggressively rather than adjusting to the game based on conditions of the pitch. 

"The dismissal of Mumbai’s Test batters once again brought to the fore the perils of the all-out aggressive mode of batting that is nowadays thought of as being central to run-making. It can work on flat pitches, but on pitches where the ball is doing something, there has to be a technique good enough to keep out the good delivery," Gavaskar wrote in his column on SportsStar. 

Also read: 'Just never retire': Rohit Sharma receives heartwarming letter from 15-year old fan after Ranji Trophy return

Rohit Sharma returned to play Ranji Trophy after a gap of nine years. Before his Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir, Rohit’s last appearance in India’s domestic tournament was in November 2015, where he played against Uttar Pradesh.