Rohit Sharma is under the scanner
Under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, India have been winning, no doubt, but he has not exactly distinguished himself as a leader who sets an example.
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Rohit Sharma (Image Credits: ICC via Getty Images)
India versus Australia in a cricket, contest has many contexts. For the sheer volume of the sport played between the two nations, in all formats, there is a familiarity trait. Yet, when the two captains go out for the toss at the historic Oval in England today (Wednesday), there is a temptation to tag India as the underdogs.
The contest is a simple one, a single Test match to decide who will be the ICC World Test Champion in the latest cycle. Going out for the toss are two captains of different natures, Rohit Sharma and Pat Cummins. To say that India have gone in with the best preparation would be akin to fans fooling themselves. An overload of white ball cricket, be it in internationals or the recently concluded edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is not a measure of how India can fare in the mother of all contests in a neutral country.
Both teams have done well enough to be figuring in the finale, a sort of indicator that these two teams dominated red ball cricket, as Test cricket is now known. Indeed, India have played plenty of cricket against Australia in the last nine years. Another factor that, on paper, is in India’s favor is having played in England so often, including the last Test in July 2022 in Birmingham. That was a spillover from the earlier series against England in 2021, where the last Test was abandoned, nay, jettisoned! The priority at that time was to fly out to the deserts of the UAE and play in the IPL.
Much water has flown below the Thames, symbolically. Under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, India have been winning, no doubt, but he has not exactly distinguished himself as a leader who sets an example. Comparisons with previous captains will be odious, for, that is the nature of sport! When the BCCI bayed for Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri‘s blood, it was reminiscent of the old Roman amphitheater, where the gladiators were in the cloak of Indian cricket board officials!
Appointing Rohit as the leader was seen as the panacea for all ills in Indian cricket, that is, in not having won ICC trophies. That was BCCI’s grudge against Kohli and Shastri, officially, on record. To be sure, Rohit has also flopped in many events, which include the Asia Cup and ICC T20 World Cup last year. More recent, as captain of Mumbai Indians, Rohit showed no flair, no fluency.
Rohit is lucky in many ways. In the event India do lose this Super Test battle, he can always hide behind the curtains as the Asian giants are plagued by several injury woes. A captain leads, be it on a flight deck in stormy weather mid-air, a captain commands in mid-sea when he is handling a massive ship with tourists on board through choppy waters. This is in no way an attempt to romanticize the good old Titanic, a movie that many must have seen.
Like the Titanic, one gets that sinking feeling Team India are not best prepared for the high-stakes final against the gritty, gutsy, and greedy Aussies. The Baggy Green blokes are hungry for the big titles. Agreed, they lost the BGT Series in India at the start of the year in India. However, from an Indian point of view, Rohit Sharma was not the best guy on view. He scored one hundred in Nagpur, but looked prosaic overall. The Mumbaikar knows, despite all the support he has from old cricketers of Bombay, performance is what will matter. Rohit has to show he is a champion batter, a man who can master the conditions.
Aussies will come all guns blazing against Rohit’s men
Plagued by injuries, India will miss the chirpy Rishabh Pant and the man who broke down, literally, in the last Test India played in England in Birmingham (Jasprit Bumrah). The sick ward list is long for India, where the names of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer also figure. If fitness is one issue, one must not confuse form in white ball cricket with Test. The DNA of the two forms of cricket is as different as two metals, like gold and bronze.
Australia are in that mood and mode, swagger, that care-a-damn attitude as they look to go flat-out against India. Pat Cummins is back and Steve Smith is so hungry, almost like that infant who needs a feed every few hours. How does one rule out that bull David Warner, who is now in the twilight zone of his career?
Going by images of the pitch at The Oval, put out by Dinesh Karthik on Tuesday, the green tinge was a red flag of sorts for India. However, given the collective experience of four cricketers that India have in batting — Rohit, Virat, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara, it is like a Rolls Royce collection. For the record, DK will be a commentator on Sky Sports.
What one sees on paper and what one gets to see on the ground are so different. Perform or perish is sports’ mantra. Rohit knows he has to fire, and he has to deliver. He is already needing to look over his shoulders, as Hardik Pandya is now the T20 captain. Rohit may be assured he will lead India in the ICC World Cup this October/November at home. However, to be put on the watch list is something Rohit would will realized. Indian cricket can be unforgiving, be it fans or the officials.
Nobody backs a losing horse. Virat Kohli faced the music and then showed he will play purely as a batter, something which had been done by Sachin Tendulkar a very long ago. Kohli’s relevance to Indian cricket is well known, for he scores runs. Now the time has come for Rohit to stand up and deliver, with the bat and leadership skills.
Predictions in cricket can be like the fickle English weather. Should Rohit win the trophy, which millions are praying for, he will become a hero! Over to The Oval.
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S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)