There once was a child named Rohit. The teachers felt he was extremely smart. Every time he was asked a question in school, he would spit out the answer before the others could even register the question. Everyone felt, once he graduated he would do great things. Great people said he would do great things. But when the time came, Rohit disappointed. He just couldn’t seem to find his feet out in the world. The big bad outside world gobbled him up and spat out his bones.
How many times have we heard this story? If you’re a movie buff, the chances are, at least a gazillion. International cricket has done that with many as well. The most recent case is Rohit Sharma. The twitterati were abuzz with calls of enough is enough. Too many chances have been doled out to someone who was supposed to be the next big thing almost 3-4years back. Ajinkya Rahane’s and Manoj Tiwary’s sentiments are echoed across the country, “What is Rohit still doing in the team?”
Disputing his talent is like disputing the existence of ‘the sun.’ He is blessed with timing and all the other clichés that one can possibly think of. The great Sachin Tendulkar said Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli may score more centuries than him. While Virat has headed in the right direction, Rohit has found himself crawling towards his 3rd ODI hundred. Just two centuries in 85 ODIs is a strong argument to dispute the existence of the sun. Which brings us back to the question, ‘Why is the Earth still revolving around the Sun.’ Read ‘why does the Indian batting line-up still consist of Rohit Sharma?’
In the
first two ODIs against Sri Lanka he was dismissed in a similar manner, edging the ball back onto the stumps. Now leaving the balls outside off stump in ODIs is virtually a no-no these days. But playing them with proper technique seems to be an unnecessary tradition. With only a slight initial movement of his front foot, Rohit finds it difficult to get his foot outside the off stump and play the ball close to the body. This is also why he seems to have so much time to play the ball. Because his trigger movement is minimal, his footwork too is. Of course technique does not guarantee that the ball will hit the middle of the bat everytime. But if he had played the ball close to the body, the inside edge could have hit his thigh pad or get jammed between bat and leg. This is what technique does. At the international level, unplayable deliveries are a given. The correct technique provides one with a chance of survival. Sharma seems to have found a style that suits him. But bowlers have found deliveries that don’t.
Another reason for Sharma’s exclusion is the talent available on the bench. Ajinkya Rahane and Manoj Tiwary are good batsmen too, perhaps as much as Rohit. Tiwary finds himself warming the bench even after scoring a century in his previous game while Rahane has proved he belongs at the international level. The problem now is the two of them will start wishing for Rohit’s failure rather than his success. No matter how much people talk about enjoying each other’s success, if you’re on the bench you’re bound to wish for the non performing guy to continue not performing. Their resentment is justified too. So, for those who believe in the power of positive thinking, the air surrounding Rohit will be filled with negative energy. For the benefit of Indian cricket, he must go back to domestic cricket and get his problems sorted out. But for the benefit of Indian cricket, he must not be forgotten.