Rohit Sharma has not exactly lit up the World Cup but M.S. Dhoni is not worrying yet.
Except for a pair of fifties against UAE and Ireland, Rohit has struggled, making scores of 15, 0, 7 and 16. The first-wicket partnership has been worth 21, 11, 29, 9 and 34 in five of the six group phase matches. The captain, however, is not unduly concerned.
“What’s important is to see what kind of a start the openers have got,” he said after the victory over Zimbabwe. “Rohit has batted really well so far. He looks quite calm and composed, and at the same time he’s playing the shots really well. That’s something that’s a key factor.”
Rohit missed the bulk of the triangular series through injury, making 138 in the only match he played, against Australia in Melbourne. He put Afghanistan to the sword in a warm-up match, lashing a 122-ball-150. Dhoni, however, felt runs were not the only yardstick to judge a batsman’s form against.
“It’s not always about the runs,” he said. “We have seen batsmen who are playing really well but they have not scored runs, and all of a sudden you see a game where they score really big and they come back. So it’s not really being out of form. What’s important is to spend time in the middle, and I think Rohit has done enough of that.”
Shikhar Dhawan, meanwhile, has recaptured some of the form that made him indispensable to the team during the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
He fell early against Zimbabwe but has two hundreds against his name already. India will be hoping the opening pair quickly starts making big contributions again.
