Rohit Sharma, the lazy elegance, the player with supreme touch and the ball races to the boundary. The bowler is not offended at all because he never felt the impact. Instead, he is also in awe looking at that shot. The murderous pull of anything pitched short is also treated by the bowler as something that is expected on the cricket field and he never responds with the same ferocity as is normal. Such is the impact of the shots that Rohit Sharma plays. Now that he is beginning to look the part, has Rohit Sharma cracked Test cricket? Finally?
The record so far suggests that Rohit perhaps could have been given a chance to open a few years before he eventually got the chance. There was a period when India struggled to find proper test openers after the Sehwag & Gambhir period. So many openers were tried and discarded. Some were reasonably successful like Vijay but other like Dhawan was a complete failure. Especially whenever India travelled abroad. Perhaps, Rohit would have been more than successful on those tours and perhaps, just perhaps, India could have won few more games. Nevertheless, he has been given a chance now and with age not on his side, it looks like Rohit is a man on a mission. This only means good news for India.
A brief look at his initial years
In the earlier days, it was really tough for Rohit to get into a team that consisted of Rahul, Laxman, Ganguly & Tendulkar. Even the opening slot wasn’t available. Despite this, he still got some chances but he failed to make use of any. If only he had scored, he could have easily replaced a Laxman or a Ganguly.
Eventually, doubts were raised about his ability to deal with test cricket. He was thought to be not fit for test cricket. Heck, he even had multiple forgettable time in limited overs. All of that changed when he began to open the innings in ODIs. Couple of good outings and he had never looked lost since then. The fabulous 2019 World Cup was the peak of his achievement as an opener with 5 hundreds. Eventually, he opened in test cricket too after Vijay, Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and a few others were deemed unfit for test opening.
Rohit the opener
Rohit had a great series against South Africa at home but his real test was in Australia and in England. He didn’t travel with the original team to Australia citing injury though he turned out for Mumbai Indians. Even I casted aspersions on his will to survive in test cricket. I had written that Rohit is afraid to travelling to Australia because he fears failure. He fears losing his test spot once and for all. He proved me wrong and though Rohit wasn’t a grand success in Australia, he did contribute meaningful runs.
Inbetween Australia and England, Rohit played a gem of a knock against England on a turning pitch. It was the decisive innings of the series. England having won the first test, never recovered after that innings.
Rohit has become so efficient at opening that nowadays it is always who will partner Rohit. He has certainly grown in stature. He proved his credentials in all the 3 tests in England so far. Having started with 3 successive scores in the 30s he got out everytime just when he was looking too comfortable. Alas, that was to change at Lord’s when he was the chief aggressor against an England side that was confident after Anderson returned one more five-fer. The 80odd is easily the best innings Rohit has played in his short test career. He saw Rahul virtually score-less at the other end and took it upon himself to score the runs. At one stage, he outscored Rahul 5-1. Such was his domination. No one would have grudged a hundred for Rohit but it wasn’t to be.
Having seen his prowess as an opener, it is only a matter of time before he starts to score heavily even in the SENA countries.
How much has ODI contributed
The limited overs format seemed to have galvanised Rohit the test player. The placid pitches that are dished out throughout the world for the short format has certainly increased the confidence of Rohit. Afterall, he holds the record for the most number of runs in ODIs. The tremendous volume of runs that he has scored in the shorter formats and against some of the best bowler has had an influence on Rohit. It made him believe that he belongs to the highest level of cricket.
The runs made him believe that he is good enough to score multiple daddy hundreds against all kinds of attacks. Eventually, this confidence has rubbed on Rohit the test opener and as a result he is set to blossom. I will not be surprised if he after all these years eventually ends up with a test average in excess of 50. If that happens, will he be considered a great batter or merely a good one with occasional gusts of wind? Only time will reveal the answer. For now, let us sit back and regal in the second or third or fourth coming of Rohit.
He must resist his urge to pull
Rohit is a compulsory hooker and puller. We all know that. He is so good off the backfoot and judges the line of the delivery that he is quick to rock back and play the pull with ease. For an Indian batter, this is a revelation. Not even Dravid or Sachin played the pull with so much authority. It is a shot that has fetched Rohit a lot of runs. It is also a shot that has brought his downfall. Now, the bowlers will know that no matter what the situation or the number of fielders in the rope, Rohit, if the ball is short, will always pull the ball. He will not even consider keeping the ball along the ground.
He will always want to clear the boundary. Ultimately, Rohit falls into the trap and gets caught at square leg or long leg. He must resist the urge to pull every short delivery. Especially, the ones that are above his head and on the leg stump. It is a line from which any batter will find it very difficult to keep the ball on the ground.
If Rohit selects the delivery for the pull or hook, it will not only benefit the team but it will also benefit Rohit immensely. Bowlers will have to think of a different plan to get him out. This will give him much more scoring opportunities. Will Rohit resist? Let us wait.