Amid criticism of both his form and captaincy, India captain Rohit Sharma has received support from an Indian World Cup-winner. 1983 World Cup-winner Kirti Azad has defended Rohit Sharma, despite India’s big defeat in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at Adelaide. Azad sharply stated that people watching on television in the comfort of their homes should not be the judges of whether a senior player should be dropped. Azad has asked for patience rather than calling for Rohit Sharma’s exit after a few games of bad form.

“I believe that a senior player who has played more than him (Rohit Sharma) can speak on his form, and not those who sit and watch the match on the television,” said Azad, speaking to ANI.

“If 140 crore people in the nation start selecting the team, then nobody will be playing for India. Every player has some weakness or the other,” Azad stated further.

After missing the first Test in Perth due to the birth of his child (which India won by 295 runs), Rohit returned to captain the team at Adelaide. However, after KL Rahul‘s impressive showing as an opener, Rohit demoted himself to No. 6.

That move did not work out for him, as he managed a combined nine runs in two innings of the second Test. Rohit scored only 3 and 6, as India lost the second Test by 10 wickets in the end.

“The opposition team has also come to play and fight, not to lose. Here, people call for players to be dropped after just five or six games,” Azad said.

“The unfortunate thing is that everything you say is based on victory or defeat,” Azad stated.

It will be interesting to see what position Rohit Sharma opts to bat in, as India fight to win the series and launch a bid for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final.