"Surprise element.." Bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule defends Rohit Sharma's decision to bowl Shubman Gill in 1st SL vs IND ODI

Rohit Sharma’s call to bowl Shubman Gill backfired as he leaked 14 runs.

India captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir have come under a bit of criticism for giving Shubman Gill an over, which turned out to be an expensive one, during the tied ODI match against Sri Lanka.

The 1st SL vs IND ODI match in Colombo ended on a thrilling note, with the match concluding in a tie as India were bowled out for 230 runs while chasing the target of 231.

India had a strong hold over Sri Lanka’s innings when the hosts were reeling at 114/5 after 31 overs.

However, the Men In Blue let their control loose a bit when Rohit gave Gill the 32nd over and the youngster leaked 14 runs in it as

However, the Men In Blue let their control loose a bit when Rohit gave Gill the 32nd over and the youngster leaked 14 runs in it Janith Liyanage hit him for a six and Dunith Wellalage crashed a boundary. This over was termed as the momentum-changing over by former India stumper Saba Karim, while Ajay Jadeja also agreed that the call to give Gill an over was not wise.

It’s going to be an all-rounder’s game in the coming days: Bowling coach explains Rohit Sharma’s decision

India’s bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule was asked about Gill’s expensive over. He defended Rohit and Gambhir, citing that the batters are being given an opportunity to bowl – he pointed at Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav bowling in the third T20I – to add more weapons to their arsenal as the game, according to Bahutule, is increasingly being influenced by all-rounders.

Bahutule said, “You might have seen in the T20Is…Rinku and Surya contributed with the ball. So, an opportunity was given to Shubman here. It’s going to be an all-rounder’s game in the coming days. So, if one or two (batsmen) from the top-order can bowl it will definitely help the team, of course, depending on pitch conditions and situations. Also, it will be a surprise element to the opposition, if a batter can bowl. So, moving ahead there will be ample opportunities for batters to bowl.”

The second ODI will be played on August 4. With India failing to take a lead in the first ODI, it would be interesting to see if Rohit continues the experimentation with part-timers.

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