Is it OK to discuss Rohit, the batter?
From the time he began playing against South Africa five years ago, Rohit Sharma has emerged as the third-highest run scorer among Test openers. With 2242 runs in 49 innings, he trails only David Warner (2328 in 58) and Dimuth Karunaratne (2358 in 48 innings). Among openers with more than 2000 runs in that time, his average of 48.73 ranks third.
Since he started as an opener, Rohit has been one of the most reliable run scorers. He averages just over 52 at home and has five hundreds, the most recent one being in Nagpur against Australia. For this reason, there have been concerns raised concerning his on-field strategies during the first two Test matches against England as well as red-ball leadership in general, but not about the fact that Rohit has failed to score forty runs in eight innings (13, 14, 39, 24, 16*, 39, 0, 5). or the fact that in his previous five Test matches, he has failed to reach fifty runs.
In all honesty, Rohit hasn’t been completely off form or has a technical issue. As captain and opener in 2023, he had one of the finest white-ball seasons ever, leading India to the World Test Championship and the men’s ODI World Cup final. He may seem to be just going through a thin period, similar to what any elite athlete would experience.
But context is important. It’s one thing to go eight innings without reaching the 40s, but he wasn’t without starts. He was dismissed more because of the manner in which he left than because he had received the starts on three separate occasions. Although he has received some good performances from James Anderson and Kagiso Rabada, he has also been dismissed pretty softly on many occasions. He pulled Rabada clean into the clutches of the long leg fielder during the first Centurion innings. He attempted to pursue Jack Leach in Hyderabad with a commanding lead in the bank, but Ben Stokes intercepted him. He threw Shoaib Bashir right into Ollie Pope’s clutches in Visakhapatnam.
As a hitter, Rohit has always attacked the ball when it is in his zones. Even as a middle-order hitter, it’s something that has generated debate when it comes to Test cricket. Such as when he attempted to pursue Nathan Lyon and left when things were poised and moving well, his several pull-shot dismissals, and so on. The question of risk vs benefit has long been debated. The issue at hand is that neither Virat Kohli nor Chesteshwar Pujara are around to continue. To carry on the crazy where Rohit left off, there is no Rishabh Pant.
Rohit is a vital member of this Indian squad. Whether he is in form or not, he is the team’s most dependable senior hitter. Everyone looks up to Rohit, the player, even if younger players like Yashasvi Jaiswal have amassed runs and Shubman Gill is now receiving a longer rope. Opponents are leery of him as a hitter. They are aware of his potential if he perseveres through a few sessions. The century in Chennai in 2021 would not have escaped the memory of England’s players. And for that reason, Rohit the batsman is just as vital as Rohit the skipper for a club that is in transition and has to beat a top-tier squad without Kohli. If not, add even more. Which raises the question: Should we discuss Rohit’s batting now?
If India proceeds to give debuts to two players in Rajkot, its middle-order will have played in one Test match. The other opener is still developing, and No. 3 just recorded his first century while playing that position. This was the perfect opportunity for Rohit to come up and score big runs. Just to bat through a few sessions, India need their skipper, the most seasoned batsman and one of the best openers in the world. All Rohit has to do to deny England the game is that. Can he? In the next days, we will know. It’s probably time to speak about Rohit, the batter, if he doesn’t.
