He would go to the room and think about it

Former India player Abhishek Nayar has opined that Rohit Sharma would be disappointed with his dismissal in the first ODI against England. He added that the former India captain would have reflected on it after going to his room.

The second ODI between India and England will be played in Cardiff on Thursday, July 16. Rohit scored 11 runs off 21 balls and fell prey to Sam Curran while attempting a big shot in the visitors’ six-wicket win in the series opener in Birmingham two days ago.

During an interaction on the JioHotstar show ‘Game Plan,’ Nayar reckoned that Rohit would have watched his videos after going to his room and realized that he needs to spend a little more time in the middle before playing the big shots.

“He will be disappointed with the way he got out. There will be reflection. He would go to the room and think about it. He watches a lot of videos, so he will watch his videos. He will pay attention to his mindset. If he would have seen the T20 series and after playing this game, one thing he would have realized is that you have to give yourself time,” he said.

The former India all-rounder added that Rohit erred in his shot selection in Birmingham and might have learned the right approach from Shubman Gill’s knock.

“You will have to play out the four or five overs of Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue. Once you get past that, things get easier. You will have to search for opportunities against Sam Curran. Going over the top using your feet may not be the right tactical move. If he would have watched Shubman Gill attentively, more runs were scored square of the wicket,” Nayar observed.

Abhishek Nayar highlighted that Rohit Sharma would have to wait and play a lot more Test match cricket rather than typical ODI cricket. He added that the 39-year-old will try to understand the conditions in Cardiff and formulate a better plan based on that.

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“Whenever the ball seams in at high speed from a fuller length, it’s always hard” – Abhishek Nayar on Virat Kohli’s dismissal in ENG vs IND 2026 1st ODI

In the same interaction, Abhishek Nayar was asked about the battle between Virat Kohli and Jofra Archer in the first ODI.

“Even Virat Kohli would have expected this. He would have anticipated that teams are going to go fuller to him. I wouldn’t say he (Archer) set him up, but he started with a shorter ball, misdirected that ball, and the follow-up ball was very different. Doesn’t matter how great a batter you are, whenever the ball seams in at high speed from a fuller length, it’s always hard,” he responded.

The former India assistant coach added that Kohli wasn’t in the wrong position and was just beaten by the seam movement Archer extracted from the pitch.

“He wasn’t in the wrong position. The position was perfect. Weight transfer, head on top of the ball, but because of the seam that Jofra Archer had, that’s where that X-factor, and that is why he could actually go through Virat Kohli’s defense. He gets out on the outside edge. Someone dismisses Virat Kohli rarely on the inside edge,” Nayar observed.

Abhishek Nayar opined that Jofra Archer’s form as a bowler and Virat Kohli’s lack of game time contributed to his dismissal. He added that the ace batter’s happy memories of performing well previously in Cardiff would help him score runs in the second ODI.