If confidence was a measurable parameter, Rohit Sharma’s current numbers will probably take you to space and back. He is scoring runs in Tests, and he is scoring even bigger runs in ODIs. More importantly, his willingness to accept responsibility is a quality that has transformed not just his career numbers but also the way millions of cricket fans look at him.
The innings on Wednesday was a classic example of how much Rohit has changed as a cricketer. After being routed in Dharamsala, the Indian team were hurting. But losing the toss in Mohali meant that Sri Lanka got first use of a wicket that had a tinge of green and some moisture beneath the surface.
Rohit also admitted that he would have chosen to bowl first if they had won the toss. It wasn’t ideal but perhaps it was better this way – at least initially, it was a challenge against an attack that had shown they knew how to exploit helpful conditions.
The Indian openers were circumspect to begin with. But for the odd hit and miss which betrayed a nervousness that comes with not being able to score at the usual pace, Rohit and Dhawan were calm and determined. The first ten overs saw 33 runs being scored for no loss. Many fans heaved a sigh of relief. After the collapse in the first ODI, India needed to show intent of the responsible kind and they did that.
Soon after, Dhawan started to find his feet. The runs started to flow but Rohit still maintained a stoic pace – if one can call it that. He was merely cruising along in third gear, letting his partner do all the heavy lifting.
Artfully constructed
But the genius lay in the way Rohit constructed his innings thereafter. He started off with two fours in the first five overs but it wasn’t until the 19th over that he hit another four. This was him, making sure that he was getting his eye in; this was him getting set for the long haul.
The runs started flowing more freely now. But Rohit was still not tempting the fates. He kept taking the singles and the odd four before exploding off the blocks after reaching his 100. His first hundred came off 115 balls, his second off just 36 balls. After getting to his hundred, he hit 11 sixes and 4 fours. As unbelievable as it seems, we have seen him do it before. And he may probably do it again. It is a template he has developed and it clearly works.
Longer format
That is also why the temptation to pick Rohit in the Test playing XI and give him the long rope has perhaps never been greater. Constructing a Test innings would not be a very different exercise – he wouldn’t necessarily have to go nuts in the end but he could.
Sunil Gavaskar has argued during the Test series against the Lankans that Rohit’s questionable shot selection is now a thing of the past. And the ODI numbers back him up by showing that the right-hander has developed into a consistent run-making machine. This is no flash in the pan.
- In 2013: 21 ODIs, 917 runs, avg 53.94
- In 2014: 9 ODIs, 491 runs, avg 54.55
- In 2015: 10 ODIs, 519 runs, avg 51.90
- In 2016: 10 ODIs, 564 runs, avg 62.66
- In 2017: 15 ODIs, 982 runs, avg 75.53
Yes, ODI cricket is not Test cricket. The pitches are different. The fields are different. The lines and lengths are different. And he will not be opening the batting. But Rohit can be a match-winner and if he can somehow find himself in Tests too, he would make for a formidable ally.
The reason Virat Kohli chose to play him in the Tests against Sri Lanka came down to two simple things. He wanted to ascertain whether this run of form could sustain itself in the longer format and perhaps wonder if he needed to change his tactics to accomodate the Mumbai batsman in the playing XI. As things turn out, he just might.
The turning point
Rohit’s career has been one of two parts. Pre-2013 and post-2013. After he was elevated to the opener’s slot in 2013, he has averaged 56.32. The initial rush of runs finally got him his Test debut in 2013 as well. But the weaknesses in his game were quickly found out in the away Tests.
In his 14 ‘away’ Tests, he averages 26.33 and has yet to score a century with a high score of 79 as against a home average of 85.44 in 9 Tests (high score of 177). So the question that came to mind as Rohit hammered his way to his third ODI double hundred was simply whether the man who has now indisputably established himself as one of the ODI greats will ever make it in Test cricket.
It is also a question that Shastri and Kohli are probably losing some sleep over in the lead-up to the South Africa tour. Do they give Rohit a go? Do they play him in place of someone? Do they drop a bowler? Do they play an extra batsman?
They have tried it before – when Kohli dropped Cheteshwar Pujara in August 2016 (West Indies tour) to make way for Rohit. It didn’t work and it was perhaps a far from prudent strategy. It won’t happen again.
But Kohli clearly places a fair deal of value on what the Mumbai star brings to the table. The attempt in the last one year or so has been to establish him in Test cricket too. An unfortunate injury ruled him out for most of the extended home season that could have well seen him make a name for himself in the longer format as well.
The current form, though, is hard to ignore.
For Michael Bevan, another ODI legend who never succeeded in Tests, the problem was psychological.
“I probably lacked a little belief that I could play it, even though a first-class average of 60 would suggest that it shouldn’t have been a problem. I think in the end that my problems at Test level were more psychological than anything physical or technical,” Bevan had said in an interview.
It may be the same for Rohit. Sometimes, though, you need to just take a leap of faith.
Rohit has given the team management enough reasons to do that and it would be a shame to see him just warming the bench in South Africa. If he has to fail, then let him but if this kind of form doesn’t get him a game, then nothing ever will.
The temptation has never been greater.