Published: Sep 23, 2016, 10:55 AM (IST)
Edited: Sep 23, 2016, 08:53 PM (IST)
The time was ripe for Rohit Sharma. India were struggling on Day One of their 500th Test. He could have gone on to be the team’s saviour but with 44 balls remaining in the day, Rohit did the unthinkable or shall we say, he did something that he has been doing for long now, throw away his wicket. Rohit’s fortunes in Test cricket has been quite contrasting to his outings in One-Day Internationals (ODIs). After impressing in his first two Tests with hundreds, Rohit had dismal run. His average reads 23.89 from the next 30 innings that he has played. While in ODIs, he scores at 42.08 and is the only man in the game’s history to score two double hundreds in the format.
Rohit is a prolific run-scorer in First-Class cricket but in Test cricket his struggles has been baffling. On Thursday, he did all the hard work as he worked his way to 35, before playing a needless stroke off Mitchell Santner to give away his wicket. What Ramakant Achrekar is to Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Lad is to Rohit. Lad spotted Rohit at 11 and groomed him. Lad in an interview with mid-day put the blame on ODI cricket for Rohit’s indifferent Test form.
“Rohit is playing his shots too early. Today too, he was early on the shot and his bat shook, that’s why he was caught at long-on. He is also falling prey to media pressure and he cannot handle this. It is disturbing him mentally. He is not going out there with a free mind,” said Lad, whose son Siddhesh is a key batsman in the Mumbai Ranji side.
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Emphasising further on this, Lad added, “He has had to play too many T20s and ODIs. In limited overs cricket, if you play your shots early, the ball will reach the boundary line because the white ball travels faster than the red one.”
However, the coach believes in his pupil and says he just needs one big knock to make a statement and there is nothing wrong with his technique. “He just needs one innings to make a strong comeback. I will call to tell him not to get pressurised, since all is well where his technique is concerned,” he said.
Indian captain Virat Kohli has bore the brunt of criticism for putting his faith on Rohit. Earlier, this month, selector Sandeep Patil spoke about giving Rohit a longer rope in Test cricket as the committee felt that he has not played enough games on trot. It is now up to Rohit to make the faith count.
