CHENNAI: He’s been eating records for breakfast for a while. But in eight days in Australia, the ball is going to change its hue from white to red, a colour that hasn’t really been lucky for Rohit Sharma.
His inclusion in the squad for the Test series has made many a critical tongue wag over the last month.
“He’s good in the shorter formats. But Tests?”. “Have they forgotten how he did in South Africa?”.
The washing out of the first day of India’s tour game against Cricket Australia XI at Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday threw up another question. With only three days of quality match-practice left, has Rohit the red-ball batsman gotten enough game-time to at least give the assurance of a solid return on investment?
“There’s no doubt about his talent. He’s mostly played with the white ball. In hindsight, that could have helped Rohit. But I would back him to deliver in Tests. All he needs to do is toughen up mentally,” was former batsman and selector Anshuman Gaekwad’s answer.
A bit of background for the “that” Gaekwad refers to. A fortnight after the squad was announced, BCCI cited “workload-related” reasons to rest Rohit from India A’s tour of New Zealand, which was supposed to see him play three unofficial Tests. Now, here’s the clincher: the last time Rohit turned out in a match that spanned more than a day was in Centurion in January.
Rohit’s inclusion for that tour — even though he scored only 78 in four innings — had come on the back of a solid home run against Sri Lanka in Tests. But, that is in stark contrast to his return to the side this time. His recent white-ball form is being touted as the catalyst for come back.
With this in the backdrop, the Indian think-tank making Rohit skip a tour that might have given him the chance to play out a 100-odd-ball knock or two with a red ball (he’s played those many or more in only four of his 37 innings this year, all in ODIs) may not seem like a wise choice.
Rohit may have hit the nets after Sunday, with a left-arm throwdown specialist thrown in for good measure. But will three days — basically the chance to get in one solid innings — be enough for batsman who has a gap of 28.87 in his Test and ODI averages in Australia? “There are two ways of looking at this. The argument that he’s hardly got look-ins with the red ball does hold. But at the same time, you need to also take into consideration how he’s been doing in shorter formats,” explains Gaekwad.
“Spending time in the middle is necessary. But consistency can be carried across formats. If Rohit can pull off the shots he’s been doing with the white ball, he can do the same with the red one too. The adjustment he needs is mental; telling himself that he has to put a prize on his wicket.”
(rahul.ravi@newindianexpress.com)