'I would be keeping the faith with Rohit' - Former Australian captain backs Rohit Sharma after embarrassing WTC 2023 final loss

India recently suffered an embarrassing loss in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final against Australia by 209 runs. This is the second consecutive time when the Indian team qualified for the WTC final, however, they had to face defeat in both finals. The first loss came in 2021 which was against New Zealand.

After the loss, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was criticised a lot and had to face the wrath of fans and experts. Meanwhile, former legendary Australian captain Michael Clarke has backed Rohit not only for his captaincy but also came front in support of his batting.

“I would be keeping the faith with Rohit. I think he is a very good captain. I like his aggressive approach, he looks to be as positive as he can be. He has had a lot of success as a leader. Look at his IPL record for Mumbai (Indians). Just because India didn’t win the Test World Championship doesn’t mean Rohit is not the right guy to lead India. 

"The fact that India qualified again, they are the only team to make consecutive finals, says a lot about how they have played their Test cricket over the past four years. It is also a very important time for stability with the One-Day World Cup right around the corner,” Clarke was quoted as saying by Cricket Addictor.

Losing a one-off final doesn’t make him a bad captain: Rohit Sharma

There are some reports that the Indian team management might look for some players who can be ideal candidates for the Test captaincy. However, Clarke continued to support Rohit and said that he has faith in him as he led the Indian team to team Australia in a home series while performing brilliantly with the bat as well.

“Like I said to you, I would be keeping faith in Rohit. Since taking over as captain, he has won you a Test series against Australia at home. He has done well as a batter as well. Think of his hundred in the last series. Losing a one-off final doesn’t make him a bad captain, nor does it make India a bad team. 

"To make consecutive finals isn’t easy. What it means is that India was the only team to play consistently well over a period of four years. To do so in Test cricket is commendable, and I would urge you to look at that as well before making any kind of judgment call” Clarke said.