Chinmay Kore
Banned
- Joined
- 15 Mar 2015
- Messages
- 612
- Reaction score
- 143
There is an oft-used adage in cricket which says, "form is temporary, class is permanent". But of what use is 'class' that doesn't deliver? Rohit Sharma is in his ninth year of international cricket and two years into his Test career. Over this period, his average stands at a modest 35.84 from 12 Tests. He only has two tons to show -scored in his first two Tests at home against a mediocre West Indies attack. From then on in the next 19 innings, Rohit has only managed two fifties -72 against New Zealand at Auckland and 53 against Australia in Sydney . But more than his scores, it's the manner of his dismissals which have caused concern. The Mumbai batsman has always had a lazy elegance about his batting, which makes for spectacular viewing when he is on song but it can't permanently hide technical deficiencies in his batting. Like most Indian batsmen, there is this susceptibility against the moving ball which South Africa, New Zealand and Australia have exploited. Rohit also has a tendency to jab at the ball outside off-stump, a habit developed during years of playing ODI cricket (he made his ODI debut in June 2007). So why a batsman with an iffy technique should bat at the pivotal No. 3 position? For one, he has the backing of his captain Virat Kohli. "I think you have to back your best players. People that you think can be match-winners for you, you have to back them and the reason why Rohit started getting more chances again was because Cheteshwar (Pujara) was going through a phase where he wasn't getting too many runs," Kohli said after the Galle Test.
Batting at the No. 3 position is not everybody's cup of tea. One needs a water-tight technique against both spin and pace, something that Rahul Dravid displayed for years. "Right now, Rohit has got three or four chances at No. 3. We obviously need to have a discussion on the batting unit as a whole about what guys are thinking and what the mindset as a whole is like.I think it's a case of getting to know every particular batsman's mindset at present and where he stands mentally," Kohli felt.
Another disturbing stat is Rohit's woeful ODI record in Sri Lanka. In 21 ODIs, he averages just 14.78 with 281 runs, compared to his career average of 39.2. "I think if you have a look at how Kohli's Test career shaped up, then you will have to say that maybe his trust, his faith in Rohit Sharma is justified. Rohit, on the other hand, started his Test career with a bang, two back-to-back hundreds and after that he was inconsistent. But at least we have seen he is capable of the big shots, capable of playing the big innings and Virat, if the captain has trust and faith in you I think you got to back that," Sunil Gavaskar told a news channel.
The man Rohit replaced at No. 3, Pujara, paid the price of a poor run -11 Tests without a hundred -in spite of an average 47.11 over his 47match career. There is little debate over Pujara's technique but the management was concerned about his inability to rotate the strike enough or `push' the scoring along. Besides, team director Ravi Shastri has categorically said that Pujara is not among the top-five batsmen in the side. "We will have to play our five best batsmen. If he (Pujara) fits into that he will play, if he doesn't, he won't," Shastri had said.
WWW.Crickbuzz.com
Batting at the No. 3 position is not everybody's cup of tea. One needs a water-tight technique against both spin and pace, something that Rahul Dravid displayed for years. "Right now, Rohit has got three or four chances at No. 3. We obviously need to have a discussion on the batting unit as a whole about what guys are thinking and what the mindset as a whole is like.I think it's a case of getting to know every particular batsman's mindset at present and where he stands mentally," Kohli felt.
Another disturbing stat is Rohit's woeful ODI record in Sri Lanka. In 21 ODIs, he averages just 14.78 with 281 runs, compared to his career average of 39.2. "I think if you have a look at how Kohli's Test career shaped up, then you will have to say that maybe his trust, his faith in Rohit Sharma is justified. Rohit, on the other hand, started his Test career with a bang, two back-to-back hundreds and after that he was inconsistent. But at least we have seen he is capable of the big shots, capable of playing the big innings and Virat, if the captain has trust and faith in you I think you got to back that," Sunil Gavaskar told a news channel.
The man Rohit replaced at No. 3, Pujara, paid the price of a poor run -11 Tests without a hundred -in spite of an average 47.11 over his 47match career. There is little debate over Pujara's technique but the management was concerned about his inability to rotate the strike enough or `push' the scoring along. Besides, team director Ravi Shastri has categorically said that Pujara is not among the top-five batsmen in the side. "We will have to play our five best batsmen. If he (Pujara) fits into that he will play, if he doesn't, he won't," Shastri had said.
WWW.Crickbuzz.com
