Let me confess at the very outset. I have never been a fan of Rohit Sharma. I have always felt that he has been treated with kids gloves whereas other deserving candidates weren’t given much of an opportunity. There is absolutely no doubt in the fact that he has abundance of talent. For a very long time in his career, it will be fair to say that he did not make much use of either his talent or the innumerable number of opportunities. He was correctly criticised for that. It beggars belief how Rohit Sharma has transformed himself into the all-weather player he is now. This is about the extraordinary transformation of Rohit Sharma.
Rohit has been around the team for more than 14 years. He started his career in 2007 and played a major role in India winning the inaugural World T20. Then his twin innings in the finals in Australia where India won for the first the annual Benson and Hedges cup made those who were privileged to watch the innings take notice of an upcoming talent. Everyone who watched him bat in his early years were convinced that a star was born. Rightful successor to Tendulkar and Dravid. He was destined to play for more than 10 years and more than 100 tests. He was expected to break quite a few records.
Alas, for the first few years, everything went downhill. Yes, he indeed has played international cricket for more than 10 years but does not have the numbers to show for it. He may never play 100 tests for India for which he will need to be around for another 4-5 years. At 34, it may not be possible.
What happened?
What went wrong? Why was a player who was thought to takeover India batting after the gradual retirements of Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and Sehwag, is still not bracketed among them? Perhaps, he took the game too lightly. Perhaps, the abundance of talent that he possess made him play too many shots too soon and as a result his gave his wicket away cheaply. He, probably, never valued his wicket. Virat Kohli came from nowhere and completely overtook Rohit. Rohit on the otherhand, remained an enigma. In the periphery for missing out on opportunities. He still had talent but his temperament was questioned.
I still pretty much remember that series in Sri Lanka where Rohit was dismissed in single digit in 5 consecutive games. Here was a player who is extraordinarily talented but who does not have the ability to survive and thrive at the highest stage. Dhoni and the selectors showed extraordinary faith and courage in picking Rohit game after game despite his failures. Questions were raised. Why he is still in the team? Why is he picked knowing fully well that he is not going to perform? The term “Nohit” Sharma was coined just to rile him. Will there be a turnaround? Will he be able to finally fulfil his promise or will he just transcend quietly into the unknown?
Then came the turnaround
It was then as a last throw of the dice, Rohit was asked to open the innings in ODIs. It took a great deal of courage on the part of Dhoni to have entrusted him with such a huge responsibility because Rohit failed in the previous couple of games. This is it. This was the stroke of luck or the much needed confidence that was given to Rohit. Will he be able to make this count? Failure will surely mean he will be forgotten forever. It is now or never for him. He can blame only himself if everything goes down south.
Rohit finally started to turnaround his fortune. He took to opening the innings like a fish to the water. He eschewed the big shots and began to put a price on his wicket. Now, bowlers found it tough to get him out. Where he would get out by playing a rash stroke just when he settled, now, he looked to play through the innings. He played calmly and sedately initially and knew pretty well that he will always be able to increase the tempo once he settles down. He followed the same template from then on and the runs began to flow. 3 double hundreds with a top score of 264 is no mean achievement.
The highlight of his ODI career so far will not be the double hundreds but the extraordinary run that he had in the 2019 World Cup. 5 hundreds in a single event was brilliant by any standards though the failure in the semi-finals will rankle him.
T20 career
Rohit continued his extraordinary run in T20s too. He holds the record for the most number of hundreds by an individual player. FOUR. Four hundreds in T20s. I will have to say that again. Four hundreds in T20s. You hardly get 120 deliveries for an entire innings and yet Rohit was able to score 4 hundreds. One must not be surprised if one day, he manages a double in T20 too. The switch between sedateness and aggressiveness is a thin line for him.
Biggest transformation in the highest form of the game
By the beginning of 2018, Rohit had already become the limited overs behemoth. Now, it is just a question of whether he will be able to replicate his exploits in the highest form of the game? The only option he had was to open the innings. In the very first series, he scored couple of double hundreds against South Africa albeit at home. It was a good start but his litmus test will be in the foreign environs. Tours to New Zealand, Australia, England and South Africa are lined up for India. Rohit’s destiny as an international player rests very much on how is he able to bat on those bouncy and seaming pitches and swinging conditions.
Rohit didn’t play in New Zealand because of an injury and was out of the first and second tests against Australia. However, he played in the IPL 2020 playoffs despite the injury. Critics including I questioned his desire to play for India. Was he trying to get out of the series to save his career? He proved everyone wrong when he was drafted in for the last couple of tests. He conducted himself decently enough but his temperament was still in question. Couple of good innings but wasn’t able to press on. Nonetheless, he showed that he can bat in difficult conditions.
Then came the innings of the series against England at home. On a turning pitch, Rohit scored a majestic 160 when no one else could manage a 50. The skill, footwork and the temperament was on full display. Rohit really sealed the test and the series in India’s favour with that one innings. It was a treat to watch him play the English bowlers with relish. Will he be able to repeat that in England?
The England tour
Then came the important tour that convinced a lot of sceptics that Rohit is indeed a complete batsman now. He started the tour confidently with a few 30s in the initial games including the WTC finals. He was playing beautifully and he left the balls that needed to be left and played every delivery on merit. The balance, the head position and the confident strides pointed to onething. A hundred is around the corner. He almost got one at Lords but fell short by 16 runs. Then came The Oval. Shardul Thakur brought India back into the game with his daredevilry yet England took a good lead. Everything depended on the opening partnership. Will Rohit be able to stand up to be counted? He did in an exemplary fashion. On that day, Rohit transformation into a test match batsman of the highest class was answered emphatically.
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