Rohit Sharma: The flashes of brilliance have to give way to match-winning innings of substance
Rohit Sharma has to put a very high price on his wicket if his cameos have to give way to match-winning innings of substance © AFP
By Sarang Bhalerao
An article about Rohit Sharma almost unfailingly has mentions of his precocious talent and the inexplicable yo-yo swings of his cricketing career. For someone who is so incredibly and unquestionably blessed with a divine sense of timing, his track record is truly bewildering. Rohit has a rare gift of spotting the ball a fraction of a second earlier than most other batsmen. As a young apprentice, his temperament was considered solid.
Everyone who saw him bat touted him to be the next big thing. Some even hailed him as the next Sachin Tendulkar — never an easy burden to carry. Nevertheless young Rohit blossomed at the international level. Being a Mumbaikar, the khadoos attitude was intrinsic in his DNA. The beginning was a fairytale. India won their first ever One-Day international (ODI) series in Australia in 2008 and Rohit scored a polished 66 in the final at Sydney.
The interesting facet about Rohit’s batting is his ability to play every shot in the book. Over a period of six years, he has scripted dazzling run-a-ball knocks. He has been a finisher in the past, and now emerged as India’s answer for an opener. Rohit has chosen to bide his time and construct an innings. He has chosen wisely. There is a contrast in his batting though: He respects good balls and hits the bad balls without any trouble. Yet, sometimes, there is a sudden rush of blood out which truncates a promising compendiums. It’s like a promising novel ending prematurely as a short story.
For a writer, he is one of the most difficult batsmen to write on. A resplendent drive might elicit poetic paragraphs, but then an ugly swipe will make the writer tear his hair apart in frustration.
Against the West Indies on Sunday, he built a carefully-crafted edifice — a laboured 60 off 88 deliveries —before attempting an impetuous big hit off Darren Sammy. India were well-placed at 124 for three in the 31st over and there was no need for a big hit at that stage. There was a batting powerplay at India’s disposal. What if the well-set Rohit would have batted till the 50th over? It certainly would have made a difference in the final analysis as India lost the match by the narrowest of margin — by one-wicket.
In the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, barring the final, Rohit gift-wrapped his wicket to the opposition. A half-hearted pull against South Africa, a cheeky leg-glance against the West Indies, a feeble flick against Pakistan and a mindless slog against the Sri Lanka — each dismissal ending a promising enterprising knock.
There is no excuse for Rohit; there can be none. He has to put a very high price on his wicket if the cameos have to give way to match-winning innings of substance.
The immediate goal should be to carry on batting till at least the 40th over after getting the start. His CV will look a lot better with more hundreds rather than the dazzling half-centuries.
The inner demons have to be conquered. It is high time Rohit vindicates his talent and wins matches for India.
(Sarang Bhalerao hails from family of doctors, but did his engineering. He then dumped a career in IT with Infosys to follow his heart and passion and became a writer with CricketCountry. A voracious reader, Sarang aspires to beat Google with his knowledge of the game! You can follow him on Twitter here)