Rohit Sharma could have made a difference to India's fortunes in New Zealand: McClenaghan

Mumbai, March 24: With the coronavirus outbreak, most sportspersons are spending time at home and taking to social media to interact with fans. New Zealand fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan is no different and in a Twitter session, the pacer said that Rohit Sharma's presence could have made a difference in the result of the two-Test series that was played between India and New Zealand.

The Kiwis completely outplayed the Indians and replying to a query from a fan on whether Rohit's presence would have made a difference, the Kiwi pacer said: "Of course."

Rohit was ruled out of the ODIs and Test series against New Zealand after suffering a calf injury while batting in the fifth T20I at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

Skipper Virat Kohli's form was also a cause for concern. In the two Test matches against Kane Williamson's men, Kohli managed just 38 runs at an average of 9.50 -- his worst in recent times. He amassed a total of 218 runs in the 11 innings (four T20Is, three ODIs and four Tests) that he played against the Black Caps and ended a pathetic tour with just 14 in his last innings.

The end result was that the number one Test side had to face a crushing defeat at the hands of Black Caps, who made amends following their 5-0 whitewash in the T20Is and came back strongly to win the ODIs and the Test matches -- 3-0 and 2-0, respectively.

Kapil Dev had said that Kohli needs to practise more as his reflexes and hand-eye coordination are probably slowing down. "When you reach a certain age, when you cross 30 then it affects your eyesight. In swings, which used to be his strength, he (Kohli) used to flick them four, but now he has been dismissed twice. So I think, he needs to adjust his eyesight a bit," Dev had said.

But former India opener Virender Sehwag begged to differ and said it was a clear case of being out of form.