T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma's poor form India's only concern, says Sunil Gavaskar

India legend Sunil Gavaskar believes Rohit Sharma's struggling form is a concern for Team India ahead of their Super 12 clash with Netherlands in the T20 World Cup 2022.

In his last nine T20 innings, including two warm-up games and seven T20Is, Rohit did not reach the 50-run mark even once. The Indian skipper scored just four runs off seven deliveries during India's successful chase against Pakistan at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.

Ahead of India's upcoming game against Netherlands, Gavaskar has said Rohit's form is the only issue at the moment, which needs to be addressed immediately.

"The only concern really has been that Rohit Sharma of late has not quite scored with the same capability we know him to. I think if he gets going it really makes people's life really easy for people to follow," Gavaskar said in an interview with India Today.

The former captain also suggested that India may need to go slow but approach steadily in the first six overs and ensure they form the required foundation for the coming batters and not just lose quick wickets. Rohit and Co were down to 31 for 4 in the first 10 overs, once again faltering against the Pakistan pace attack.

"A good platform is what everyone looks at. You give a good platform, a good start and it makes that much easier for somebody coming down at four or five to start hitting the ball from the first ball. They don't have to give themselves time to settle in, they don't have to give themselves time to steady the ship, like India had to do against Pakistan when they were four wickets down for 31. So, even if you get a slightly slower start, maybe get to about 40 after losing 1 wicket, that is a much better platform than 31 for 4," Gavaskar added in the same interview.

T20 World Cup: Arshdeep has shown great temperament, says Anil Kumble

Meanwhile, former India head coach Anil Kumble has heaped praise on young bowler Arshdeep Singh, saying the pacer can have the same impact as Zaheer Khan had on the Indian team.

"I was really impressed with Arshdeep, how he's come through. I worked with him for three years and I could see the kind of development that he has had in the T20 format, and last year's IPL was a classic example of how he handled the pressure.

"He perhaps bowled the tough overs for the team and yeah, you don't always look at the wickets column in the T20 game, you look at what moments the bowler comes up with. And the temperament that he's shown, it's wonderful. We saw that again in the India-Pakistan game. When you have 90,000 people at the MCG, it's always challenging. So yes, Arshdeep has certainly matured and I'd like to see him carry on. Probably what Zak did for India, I expect Arshdeep to go on to do some wonderful things for India," Kumble said in an interview with ESPNcricinfo.

Arshdeep, playing in his first World Cup for India, picked up three wickets in the game against Pakistan, while he gave away 32 runs in his quota of four overs.

India are scheduled to face off against Netherlands on Thursday (Oct. 27) at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).