One key takeaway from the BCCI’s central contracts announcement was Rohit Sharma being retained in the A+ category. Despite the fact that the contracts were premised on earlier performances, Rohit, who doesn’t play international T20 anymore, is now expected to lead India on the forthcoming tour of England. Another gruelling five-Test tour, it will challenge India. And Rohit. Against the moving ball, it will be a real Test of skill and patience.
And that’s where his last two IPL performances have been heartening. While I am not trying to suggest that we can make any inference based on IPL efforts, it was essential for Rohit to spend time out in the middle. In Australia, he was finding it hard to survive and things did not improve much in the Ranji Trophy game that he played.
The hundred against England in February in the 50-over ODI was a return to form of sorts, and Rohit yet again stood out in the Champions Trophy final. While the glimpses were there off and on, the consistency was lacking. There were no two back-to-back innings of quality and that was a matter of concern. That’s what the last two IPL innings helped address, and hopefully Rohit will be able to build on them and score more in the remaining games, giving him the necessary time in the middle before the tour of the UK.
What should also help Rohit in England are his past efforts. He played his best Test cricket on the 2021 tour, and will know what he needs to do to be successful in trying batting conditions. In fact, it was his self-discipline that stood out in 2021.
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“After coming back from the UK, we went to Dubai for the IPL,” he once told me. “And one day, I was batting in the nets with Mahela Jayawardene, our coach, monitoring the session. After a point, Mahela walked up to me and said laughingly that I was indeed leaving the ball very well, but the Test series was over and I was back to playing the IPL, so maybe I needed to not leave everything and play some shots.”
The truth is that Rohit in 2021 believed he could do it. He did not just say it to the media or his teammates. Rather, deep down, he knew he could do the job for India. Elite high-performance sport is played so much in the mind, and Rohit is a classic case.
He was poor in Australia in the 2022 T20 World Cup. With the captain playing conventional, outdated cricket, the team looked pedestrian. England destroyed India in the semi-final and Rohit learnt his lesson. Come the 2023 World Cup, he was a changed man. Selfless and aggressive, he was like a breath of fresh air at the start of the Indian innings. He believed he was wrong in Australia and needed to change. He believed he could do it in 2023 and 2024, and delivered.
Now, can he do it one final time in England in the most challenging format of all? Can he yet again beat all odds? It will be tough. Very tough. But that’s what the sport is about. And Rohit’s entire career stands testament to overcoming the odds.