The captain is the most important individual in a cricket side. In no other team sport does the leader of the troop occupy such a pivotal position. That’s what Australian cricketers are so clear about. They make it a point to target the opponent’s captain with the choicest of verbals ahead of any marquee series. They deliberately try to put that person under psychological pressure.
Rohit Sharma will face that and more when he embarks on his most important overseas Test assignment a few weeks from now. He will travel to Australia with few runs under his belt. His returns in Test cricket since the England series earlier this year have not been noteworthy. In four Test and eight innings after that, he has made 104 runs. His failure to provide starts or play longer knocks was one of the reasons behind the series defeat against New Zealand.
One shouldn’t judge a batter with an average of 42-plus on the basis of four Tests. He has Test centuries in England and South Africa. But, when it comes to Australia, he has not been that successful. In seven Tests and 14 innings Down Under, Rohit averages 31.38 with just two half-centuries. In the longer format, it’s clearly not one of his favourite destinations.
Complicating things further, he has to travel to Australia carrying the ignominy of becoming the first India captain to have lost a home series against New Zealand. His own form will not make him feel comfortable either. By all estimates, he will board the flight for the five-Test series under a lot of pressure. The hostilities visitors usually confront in that country will only make things tougher.
Rohit the batter has changed over the years. And this has something to do with the methods he employs in the white-ball formats. In ODIs and T20Is, he has been the early aggressor of late. He imposes himself on the opposition right from the start and plays with a selfless approach. He doesn’t seem to bother about how many runs he scores and focuses on getting the team to a brisk start.
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While that principle worked in the last two World Cups in the two formats, the same can’t be said of Test cricket. Rather, this has often turned out to be counterproductive. In the first innings of the first Test against New Zealand in extreme conditions for batting, Rohit spent some time in the middle before charging at Tim Southee, only to see the ball rattle the stumps.
Despite a knock of 52 in the second innings of that game, Rohit failed to inspire the team or provide a solid start. His failures meant pressure on the batters who followed as India lost back-to-back Tests at home after a long time. In fact, Rohit had not even made his Test debut when this happened the last time, against England in Mumbai and Kolkata in 2012.
A skipper successful in his primary role — batting or bowling — is always a plus for any team. Rohit led by example in the England series earlier this year and also against Australia at home in 2023. He set a template that others followed and the positive impact of that was seen in the results. India won both series, with the captain being a standout performer.
Something has snapped since. Whether it’s because of being over-adventurous and following the white-ball formula is difficult to tell. What is there for everyone to see are the failures and the pattern in them. He has suddenly become uncomfortable against pace and spin, and is often getting out while trying to force the issue. This is not a good sign shortly before a huge series.
What kind of impact the captain’s inability to get runs can have on the team is also difficult to tell. Then again, it can be seen that it has had a negative impact on the side. It’s very important for Rohit to reboot and get back to his favoured style of play instead of trying too hard to create a template that is difficult to follow. The sooner the better, for him and his team.
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