India captain Rohit Sharma had a terrible time in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Rohit was very disappointing with the bat and even looked clueless as captain. His poor numbers even forced him to sit out the final Test in Sydney.
Former Australian cricketer Kerry O'Keeffe spoke about the strategy adopted by Australia to attack the Indian captain and bring down the team immediately. O'Keeffe claimed Australia were successful as they forced Rohit Sharma out of the last match.
Australia's tactics not only affected India's combination but also brought Rohit Sharma's career to the brink. There have been calls for his retirement, but Rohit still feels he has something left in him.
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Kerry O'Keeffe reveals Australia's strategy
While speaking to Fox Cricket, Kerry O'Keeffe claimed that the tactics of attacking the opposition captain worked for Australia again. According to him, Australia opted for the same tactics again and again whenever they won.
“So it happened. The Australian tactic for years has been to look to bring down the opposition captain and it's been, if you look at the series they've won, it's worked all the time,” O'Keeffe said.
Australian bowlers were all over Rohit Sharma in the series. The Indian skipper scored 31 runs in three Tests that he played at an average of just 6.20. It is the worst average ever recorded by a visiting Australian captain and sums up his miserable Test run.
How did Australia attack the opposition captains?
Kerry O'Keeffe went on to cite examples of how Australia had previously attacked opposition captains to bring the whole team down. He claimed that Australia was not successful against Ajinkya Rahane in BGT 2020-21 and as a result they lost the series.
His examples also include Pakistan's Shan Masood, West Indies' Kraigg Brathwaite and New Zealand's Tim Southee. All these players have recently led their teams against Australia but have not performed well individually.
“They couldn't get Rahane Ajinkya last time and he won the series. But if you look at the captains they have dropped in recent times, Sharma. Tick. Shan Masood with Pakistan. It was three-zero. Kraigg Brathwaite, there was one, but they were above Kraigge. They went to New Zealand and knocked out Tim Southee, winning the two-wicket haul,” O'Keeffe added.
Kerry O'Keeffe breaks down Australia's strategy against Rohit Sharma
Kerry O'Keeffe also mentioned that Australia tried to attack Jasprit Bumrah but the fast bowler was too good for them. However, their tactics worked against Rohit Sharma as he was already in form.
“They couldn't get (Jasprit) Bumrah down. He was too good. But then the baton was handed over to Rohit Sharma and they immediately brought him down to the extent that he withdrew from the final Test. So that's a tactic they seem to want to do if they can, if they can crack the commander and make him anonymous, it empowers him,” O'Keefe observed.
Rohit Sharma played the second, third and fourth Tests of the series. He missed the first Test due to the birth of his second child and sat out the fifth Test due to his poor form with the bat.
In Rohit's absence, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah led India in the first and fifth Tests. Bumrah led India to a historic victory in Perth and almost led the team to victory in Sydney before a back injury forced him out of the match.