Indian cricket team skipper Rohit Sharma has often been projected as laidback and forgetful. Tales of his memory lapses have been going around. But Indian umpire Anil Chaudhary has something else to say. According to him, Rohit is anything but ‘casual.’
Umpire Anil Chaudhary Praises Rohit Sharma’s Cricketing IQ
In an interview given to a YouTube podcast show ‘Unplugged’ recently, Chaudhary-who has so far officiated in more than 50 international matches underlined that Rohit, actually, is supremely intelligent. He called upon all the fans and pundits not to get misled by any illusion regarding Rohit’s cricketing intelligence, suggesting that the captain is razor-sharp as far as the game sense is concerned.
“Rohit aapko lagta casual hai par bahot smart player hai. Iss chakkar mein na padna aap. He is very smart. Cricketing IQ bahut achha hai uska, means game ki samajh (Rohit may seem casual, but he’s a very smart player, don’t get fooled thinking otherwise; his game sense is very good),” he said.
Rohit Sharma Is Not At All “Casual”
“Uski Batting se idea nahi aata aapko. Jab wo batting karta hai to lagta hai 120 (kmph) pe bowling ho rahi hai. Jab dusra batting karta hai to lagta hai 160 pe bowling ho rahi hai….Wo bahut saari appealon mein aa jata hai aur kehta hai ‘abey rehne de’. Woh lagta casual hai par casual bilkul nahi hai woh (you can’t guess his sharp mind from his batting. When he’s batting, it seems someone is bowling at 120 kmph, but when someone else is batting, the speed seems like 160 kmph. He gets involved in a lot of appeals and then says ‘let it be.’ He may seem casual, but he’s not casual at all).”
Umpire Anil Chaudhary also mentioned that Rohit Sharma makes umpiring quite easy as he does not play “confusingly”, his dismissals are mostly “straightforward.”
“Rohit jaise player ke liye umpiring karna bada easy hai. Ya to out hota hai ya to not out hota hai. Seedha seedha kaam hai uska. Guchur guchur khelta hi nahi hai wo. Woh out hai ya not out hai. Aise player ko umpiring karna bahot easy hai. Usko dekhna aap, ya to woh saaf out hoga ya saaf not out hoga (umpiring for a player like Rohit is very easy; he’s either out or not out, it’s straightforward with him. He doesn’t play confusingly),” he added.
India will face Bangladesh in a series comprising two Test matches and three T20 Internationals, beginning on September 19. This series will be a significant challenge for Rohit Sharma and his team as they strive to secure a spot in the World Test Championship final for the third consecutive time.