Rohit Sharma’s litmus test as captain of the Indian test team is upon him at the moment. It has been just over a year since he became the captain in all the formats. During this period, he hasn’t enjoyed the kind of success that he would have liked. Bumped out of Asia Cup in the 2nd round and a humiliating 10-wicket loss to England in the T20 World Cup are tournaments that Rohit will want to forget in a hurry. They were in the shortest format. In Test cricket however, it is hard to believe that he has captained only in a couple of Tests in 15 months. Afterall, India does play a fair amount of red-ball cricket.
His Test captaincy career started on a positive note with a convincing series win over Sri Lanka. Ofcourse, Sri Lanka are not the same force they once were and India were expected to win. Especially, in India, Sri Lanka were not a match. So, it was on the expected lines. However, what happened after that is not makes one wonder whether Rohit Sharma has really been the captain.
Rohit’s time on the sideline
Rohit missed 8 of the 10 Tests India played. Injuries forced him to lay low. Which brings in the question of what happened to the yo-yo test? Just a glance at Rohit will reveal the fact that he is not fit by any yardstick. His lack of fitness is resulting in low scores across formats.
During his time out of the side, India lost at Edgbaston and drew a series that they should have won. Lost to South Africa which they were very much expected to win. Scrapped through against Bangladesh. One only hoped that he worked on his fitness and had come back a stronger and fitter player. Unfortunately, it did not happen.
Granted that Rohit has the best win-loss record in ODI cricket of any Indian captain who have captained in more than 10 games but ODI cricket increasingly are becoming obsolete. The much touted aggressive approach right from the start were put in the back burner as soon as the ICC tournaments are underway and the team went back to the tried and failed old method of playing out the overs before launching their assault.
Importance of ICC Trophy
Thumping wins in bilateral series does not count for anything unless you have an ICC Trophy or atleast an Asian Championship to show for. It is these wins that define a captain and are remembered for a longer time. Dhoni is a prime example. He too had a decent record but people remember him as the captain who won the 2011 ODI World Cup. Ganguly, who is by far the best Indian captain over the last 35 years, though not forgotten completely, is not thought to be of the same league as Dhoni because of lack of ICC tournament wins. However, he will remembered for instilling some sense of steel in the Indian team and for impossible wins in Australia and England.
Real test of his captaincy starts now
It is against this backdrop Rohit will lead India in the most anticipated series apart from the Ashes this year. The Australians are here in India with their confidence boosted following successful Asian leg in 2022. They have all the bases covered and in Smith, Labuschagne and Khawaja, few good players of spin bowling. India are without their best batsman over the last several years in Rishabh Pant and Bumrah, who is preparing to be fit for the IPL, is not expected to play any part in the series.
He is left with an aging group with the average age of the playing eleven in excess of 32. Shreyas Iyer, an excellent player of spin is unavailable for the first Test. The top and middle order are struggling for runs and there is no hope at the end of the tunnel that the struggling batsmen will be able to turnaround their fortunes in the space of a few weeks. For an Indian supporter, the top 6 does not inspire much confidence. Especially, against the turning ball. How Rohit will be able to inspire not just himself but the entire team will be closely observed.
Wrapping up Rohit Sharma’s litmus test as captain
For what it’s worth, Rohit became the Indian captain across formats with something of an aura. He was thought to be the messiah that will deliver trophies after trophies and regular series wins. However, within a short span of time, his white-ball captaincy is under serious threat. Already, Hardik Pandya have taken over the T20 captaincy. It is as good as confirmed that Rohit, Rahul & Kohli have played their last T20 game for the country. He only has the ODI captaincy and just one ICC tournament to make a mark.
If India does not win the World Cup at home, it can be guaranteed that Rohit’s white-ball career, both as a player and as a captain has ended.
The Rohit Sharma era could be a short one. Much depends on the result of the series against Australia to qualify for the WTC finals in June. It the series is lost or lost miserably, Rohit’s era could be shorter than anyone expected. Nothing short of a series win will placate the Indians who have got used to one reversal after another in major ICC tournaments.
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