Five players who shined under Virat Kohli but failed under Rohit Sharma's captaincy

Virat Kohli, the former team India captain, was the country’s most successful Test captain and the youngsters, who played him under the Indian superstar, gave their best, on the back of the support that they received under Kohli’s tenure as the skipper. 

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However, there are players who are struggling to find their touch under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, given that the player is facing criticism for not taking aggressive decisions during India’s knockout game against England in the recently concluded 20-20 World Cup 2022. 

As things stand, let us take a look at five players who outclassed under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, but failed under Rohit Sharma’s tenure:

1) KL Rahul

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KL Rahul (Image Source: Twitter)

Ever since Rohit took over as the captain of the Indian team earlier this year, the batter has lost his touch and one has to agree that the batter has been backed right throughout the year despite his dismal performances. To add more, Rahul averaged around 43 in the Test format last year under Kohli’s captaincy as compared to an average of 20 under Rohit’s stint. 

However, fans opined that the Indians skipper Rohit could have had a word with the right-handed batter and helped him out, which Kohli used to do often whenever the players went through a rough phase. As things stand, it remains to be seen if Rahul could make a comeback and prove his critics wrong. 

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2) Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal (Image Source: Twitter)

Mayank Agarwal flourished in the Test setup under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, given that his famous 243 came under the superstar’s captaincy against Bangladesh in November 2019. However, Agarwal has not been an active part of the Indian Test camp since then and has been struggling to get a nod. 

The right-handed batter, although has been proving the critics wrong with his prowess, failed to make a comeback in the longest format of the game this year and it remains to be seen if he would get proper backing from the current skipper Rohit Sharma. 

3) Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar (Image Source: Twitter)

Washington Sundar, known for his stupendous ‘Gabba’ partnership with Rishabh Pant, made his debut under Virat Kohli and was added to India’s Test setup. Much to the stupefaction of the Indian fans, the allrounder outclassed in the format and impressed everyone with his batting and bowling skills. 

However, since the start of the Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid era, Sundar has been struggling to find his form and regain his touch. To add more, Sundar struggled with injuries and his last Test match came against England in March 2021. 

4) Axar Patel

Axar Patel (Image Source: Twitter)

Axar Patel is fast becoming India’s trusted allrounders and the left-handed batter is struggling to contribute with the bat. Given that his strength is bowling, contrary to last year’s records, Patel has been struggling to contribute wickets for the team. 

To add more, Patel managed to rack up 36 wickets in the longest format of the games last year and comparatively, Patel has picked up only 3 wickets this year, making fans question Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, yet again. 

5) Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant (Image Source: Twitter)

Rishabh Pant, known for his aggression and ability to destroy the opponents on his day, has been struggling to get things sorted, to an extent that he volunteered himself out of the ongoing ODI series against Bangladesh. 

Much to the surprise of the Indian fans, Pant’s average in the shortest format of the game was around 30. Concerning his games under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, the average has dipped to 20 in 21 games and the southpaw is at the lowest of his morales.