BackRohit Sharma’s big chance
The batsman has made a spectacular return to the ODI team; he now needs to seal his place in Tests
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Rohit Sharma first played international cricket for India at the age of 20. In 2007, he made his One Day International (ODI) and T20 International debut, grabbing eyeballs in the inaugural World T20 in South Africa. In 2008, he hit an early zenith when, in the company of Sachin Tendulkar, he helped India beat Australia in the CB Series (or Australian Tri-Series).
Even before that half-century at Sydney, Sharma was regarded as a player destined for great things. He possessed uncanny timing and supple wristwork, and that extra fraction of a second to play his shots. He also hit towering sixes with ease.
“An amazing talent" is how anyone and everyone chose to describe him. Few doubted that he was the next big thing in Indian batting, ready to take over the baton from Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid when the time came.
Nearly seven years have passed since. Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane appeared on the international scene after Sharma and have already played more Test cricket than him.
Until January 2013, Rohit had played 86 ODIs, batting everywhere up and down the order, as late as No.7 at times, averaging only 30.43. His consistency took a big hit; he was unable to find his feet and, indeed, a place in the line-up he could call his own. Then he was promoted to full-time opener. The last two years have seen a sharp step-up in the runs he has scored. In 40 matches since, his average is 52.17, including a world-record two ODI double hundreds.
“If you are confident, automatically you bat well, and technique then comes into play," he said, ahead of the first Test against Australia, about his recent run of form in the ODI arena. “If you are not confident you tend to overdo it. Sometimes to be confident you have to rely on your technique and go bat in the nets and sort out your problems with the help of the coach and others."
This form hasn’t been replicated in the Test arena though. Cut back to December 2013. On the back of his first ODI double hundred, Sharma toured South Africa with the Indian team. This was the first overseas tour after Tendulkar’s retirement, the beginning of a new era and a trial for all the young batsmen, for the next 12 months would see more Test cricket abroad.
Sharma failed, Pujara, Kohli and Rahane succeeded. It was the same story two months later in New Zealand. One fifty in eight Test innings in South Africa and New Zealand. Not surprisingly then, when India opted to play only six front-line batsmen in four of the five Tests in England for the Pataudi Trophy, Sharma was left out.
“I would rather be positive," said Sharma, when asked if the absence of a guaranteed Test spot rankled.
“Things don’t always go the way you want. But you have to keep working and get the best out of the situations. I don’t want to think about what happened in the past. It is very important to look ahead. I am focused and looking forward to the big challenge," he added, his eyes betraying his obvious disappointment.
India’s ongoing tour of Australia, which kicked off with the first Test at Adelaide, is Sharma’s third trip Down Under. On Tuesday, the opening day of the first Test, Sharma found himself in the playing XI. Kohli is leading the side and in M.S. Dhoni’s absence, the stand-in skipper opted for seven batsmen. It means Sharma is now playing only his second Test out of the last six India have contested.
The first one was in Southampton on the same England tour, the third Test of the Pataudi Trophy series. There, on Day 3, India were struggling against a tall first innings’ total. Sharma was at the crease and had got a start. With 10 minutes to go before the tea break, batting on a fluent 28 runs, he went for an uncalled-for big hit against part-time off-spinner Moeen Ali and got caught. India lost that Test; Sharma wasn’t picked again for the eleven in the next two Tests.
His aggressive batting was defended by the captain, but everyone knew that wasn’t the shot to play. And that has been Sharma’s problem all these years. No one denies the talent he possesses, perhaps just the temperament to convert it on the field.
“I don’t want people to just remember me as a batsman with a lot of talent. I want them to also remember me for the hard work I have put in all these years," he said. If that is to happen, this four-Test series will be important. Already, in the first Test, the challenge is apparent: At the time of writing this article, Australia, batting first, were amassing a large first innings total.
“I have toured Australia before," Sharma said. “I know the conditions here. I haven’t prepared any different from what I usually do. Just that I have worked hard on what shots to play and what not to play."
Chetan Narula is the author of Skipper: A Definitive Account Of India’s Greatest Captains.
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