It’s not often that a batsman finds himself dropped from the XI, especially in home series internationals where he has an exceptional record, and after a reasonably successful outing in the preceding series.
Clearly the mindset of India’s team management is changing; it was almost a year ago that India’s top notch spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was benched for the first Test at Adelaide because captain Virat Kohli and team Director Ravi Shastri felt that leg-spinner Karn Sharma looked better in the “nets”.
Refreshingly the critics are willing to give Kohli time to evolve as a captain and indeed there was no whisper of disapproval when Rohit Sharma was sent back to play the Ranji Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh, once he did not “fit into the XI” for the first Test against South Africa at Mohali.
For Rohit, the stylish and sometimes cocky-looking right-hander, the three-Test series in Sri Lanka was easily the best series in two years of Test cricket, following a string of dismal performances in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia; he played one Test each against England and Bangladesh.
After a roaring 177 start against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata in the winter of 2013, Rohit has not found a place in the XI only five times; he’s so far played 14 Test matches. He followed the debut hundred with 111 against the Windies at Mumbai and tallied 288 runs and in the three-Test series against Sri Lanka, last August, he made 9, 4 (Galle), 79, 34 (PSS, Colombo) and 26 and 50 (SSC, Colombo) to be second to Kohli (233 runs) in aggregate.
How does a batsman like Rohit Sharma handle such a situation, sent back to play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy; he joined the national squad for the second Test, but was not picked in the XI.
“It probably points to a problem of plenty with the Indian team now. There are good batsmen for different positions. But it’s a tough time for Rohit too; his Test career has not taken off really. Not being chosen in the XI will affect him. His friends, family members and many more will ask him why he is dropped and it’s difficult to answer such questions,” said sports psychologist Bhishmraj Bam, who was honoured two years ago by the Sports Psychology Association of India for his lifetime contribution to motivate sportspersons.
Bam praised Rohit Sharma for responding the way he did against Uttar Pradesh with a century. “Cricket is a cruel game, there are sudden death situations. One faltering moment of concentration and the batsman is out. Rohit is a batsman of high calibre. It’s difficult to focus from Test match situations to Ranji Trophy level. But by scoring a century Rohit just reminded the selectors that he is in good nick and form. The same logic applies to other sportspersons too.
“The selectors are always looking for new talent and trying to rebuild teams. In the circumstances Rohit did well and he will do well in the future. He has the calibre to play in all forms of the game; so when he gets his chance he has to make the most of it,’’ explained Bam, talking to The Hindu from Nashik.
A keen follower of sports, Bam pointed out that for many years Shikhar Dhawan had to slog it out in first-class competitions before getting a break against Australia in March 2013.
“Even Cheteshwar Pujara had to wait. But that’s the nature of the sport. There is a cooling period. There can be a situation wherein the pair in the middle puts on a 300-run partnership and the captain declares and the next batsman padded can do nothing about it having waited for his turn to come. Rohit will do well. But as I said before, it’s tough situation to deal with for a cricketer,” observed Bam giving an impressing that he’s indeed a Rohit Sharma-fan.
Both Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kohli have expressed tremendous faith in the quality that Rohit brings to a team, but perhaps somewhere down the line, the right-hander has failed to rise to the occasion, unlike his own Mumbai colleague, Ajinkya Rahane, who has surpassed expectations in every overseas tour.
