'They can't deliver under pressure' - Salman Butt takes indirect dig at Rohit Sharma before ODI World Cup 2023

The mental game has already begun prior to the big India-Pakistan match in order to gain an advantage. Recently, Salman Butt, a former cricketer for Pakistan, said that India captain Rohit Sharma needs to improve before the ODI World Cup 2023 because he hasn't done well in stressful situations in a while. In the three-match ODI series, Rohit played sparingly despite having a strong performance against the West Indies in the Test series.

One of India's top batsmen was given a rest for the next two games of the series. He had joined the batting order after India lost five wickets in the first game. He had previously missed quite a few white-ball games, and his most recent ODI century came against New Zealand in Indore in January 2023, when he scored 101. When questioned about Ishan Kishan's potential to start India's World Cup innings, Butt responded that the kid could be a possibility if Rohit keeps having trouble in white-ball cricket.

“He is not a bench strength level anymore. He's more than that. Secondly, I accept that Rohit is a big player, but some players are there who have been around for a long time but when pressure gets to them, they can't deliver. Especially at the knock-out stages, this is something that has to be worked on," Butt further said on his YouTube channel.

Kishan’s confidence will also be hampered by these changes

With three half-centuries in three games, Kishan led India in the ODI series against the West Indies. He is one of the front-runners among wicket-keeper batsmen to replace Rishabh Pant in the India starting XI now that he is out of the tournament.

“I absolutely agree (that India's experiment with Ishan was confusing). One guy being dropped after scoring 200... what's the point? Either they accept the fact that he is second option, even if he scores 1000 runs in a single innings. That never gives you the feeling of being the best, that never gives you the feeling that you will be rewarded for your performances. Currently, the feeling is no matter what you do, you will be the second option," the former Pakistan skipper added.