Rohit Sharma versus South Africa: Reincarnation or end of the road?
Rohit Sharma is set to return to the Indian Test side in the first Test against South Africa and he would be batting to save his red-ball career. Having failed in the warm-up game for Board President's XI against the Proteas, the beginning wasn't that great but he could fall back on a similar instance six years back, when he passed the test with flying colours.
Having being in and out of the side and an average middle-order batsman at best, the fluent yet inconsistent Mumbaikar was given one last chance to salvage his career by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, when he was asked to open the batting in the 2013 Champions Trophy. In England, Rohit along with Shikhar Dhawan stood out at the top as India lifted the trophy in Birmingham.
Since then, Rohit has played 130 matches for India, scoring 6621 of the 8686 runs in total at the top from 218 one-dayers. He has averaged just over 59 and smashed 25 centuries, including three double hundreds -- the only person to achieve the feat so far.
He reinvented himself in England six years go and starting October 2, he perhaps needs to do it all over again if Test cricket remains a calling of his.
However, the renovation need not be drastic. It begins mentally for the 32-year-old for starters.
Rohit has far too often been out while trying to play lofted shots in the format. In a format that demands patience and application, his experienced head has failed him far too often.
Rohit Sharma has often thrown his wicket away while trying to hit out of trouble
And, then comes the technique part of the equation, which remains a bigger issue to fill for someone who has played 12 years of international cricket and is already a superstar in the shorter formats of the game.
Rohit has a tendency to struggle with the moving ball and that has been exposed by many in the past, whenever he came down to bat with the opposition having the new ball. While the SG in India is not supposed to swing that much but with some nip in the air and cloud and rain predicted in Visakhapatnam to begin with, the initial stages will pose a threat. And, the fact that Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada have got him out six times among themselves already in whites, will not give him a good night's sleep.
If you dissect a little further, the inability to deal with the swing comes from Rohit's short front-foot stride, which often opens him up to the moving ball. The fact that he doesn't use the length of the crease and take a massive stride towards the ball, it also opens up the option of LBWs against him. It puts him in line with the stumps and vulnerable to incoming deliveries, which Rabada himself has exploited in Cape Town and Centurion last year -- once with a clever change of angle and secondly, with reverse swing.
But, is a massive front-foot stride like a Virat Kohli absolutely necessary to succeed in Test cricket? No! Steve Smith does weird things and then in close quarters, there is Cheteshwar Pujara, who has shown that patience and seeing the ball till the last moment also makes one a successful red-ball cricketer.
Rohit Sharma could be opening the batting for India for the first time in Tests
However, to defend Rohit, one can also point out that he hasn't had a consistent run to build a game that suits Test cricket. A legend in his own right in ODIs, Rohit needed to be persisted with to have good results but that hasn't happened till date. His record ain't that bad over the last three-and-a-half years. He has averaged 53 and yet he has played only 11 of India's 40 Tests.
But, he has the opportunity to set the records straight and start afresh. At 32, he can have a good three to four years at the top for a side that is looking to maintain its dominance around the globe. Experts and coaches have backed him to be as good and impactful as Virender Sehwag at the top. He is good and perhaps could be more impactful... but will he be able to be that special?
