Boria Majumdar in Melbourne
All eyes were on him, and he clearly wasn’t in the right mindspace. A player who has won the mental battle each time questions have been asked of him seems no longer to be able to. He was dismissed by a nothing ball. Rohit Sharma could easily have left it alone. He could have played a full-blooded pull shot. He did not do either. A half-hearted limp stroke which just lobbed into the hands of Scott Boland and further dented Rohit’s tour numbers.
No one can say when a performer needs to call time. It is on Rohit to take that call. To ask himself if he is there mentally. His conscience will tell him what to do. If he is apprehensive or not. Is he soldiering on just because he is captain? Remember that Shubman Gill is sitting out to accommodate Rohit, and as leader, his ultimate responsibility is towards the team.
A proud performer, Rohit needs to dig deep and ask himself what the future holds. Is he still able to do the job for India or has it become a stretch? There comes a time when the mind isn’t really in your control anymore. While muscle memory should have told him to leave the ball alone, his eagerness to do something made sure he played the false shot. The self-discipline is lacking, and that could be because he is scarred and scared at the same time. There is fear of failure, whether he agrees or not. And from an Indian standpoint, it is proving hugely detrimental for the team.
From here on, the pressure will only grow. He has one more innings here in Melbourne, but from the evidence at hand, it will be a very tough ask for him to turn the tide in the fourth innings. That’s what brings me to the question. What will Rohit do in Sydney? Will he make way? Is that the best call when things aren’t really happening for him? Much as he can try, the game is cruel and there is a time when things just start to go away from you. Is Rohit feeling it, for no one else will sense it better? What is also important for him to ask is what impact these repeated failures have on the team? Will he continue to have unconditional support within the change room, or will it start to get tense with him not performing?
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These are difficult questions to confront, and only Rohit has the answers. Seeing from the outside, it is evident that he is struggling. Things aren’t going his way and you can’t see how things will change radically over the course of one innings. Yes, you don’t want things to get away from you like this, but he isn’t the first player to face such a predicament. For the best, it is about why and not why not. Is he merely delaying the inevitable when the writing is on the wall? Can the best of Rohit in red-ball cricket only be viewed with the rewind button on YouTube?
As he trudged back, one could sense the dejection. That sense of despondency when you know you have let the team down. For a proud performer, that’s the worst feeling. Truly the worst. And maybe that’s why he needs to recalibrate. Ask himself the hard question. Take a reasoned call which will be in the interest of the team.
You don’t want the leader to have a negative mindset, for that will surely impact the change room. And with Rohit not scoring, that’s what is happening for India. It has to change. And if that means Rohit takes the tough call, no one will question it. Is it the right moment to call time?
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