The Boxing Day Test is one of the most important matches for India in recent times. The stakes are huge. If India win, they retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It would mean that Australia have failed to beat India at home in a decade, an achievement Indian cricket fans would savour for all time to come. It will also mean that the World Test Championship final door stays ajar. Clearly, there is a lot to play for at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
And that’s where the story moves to Rohit Sharma. He hasn’t looked the part in the series so far. The bad patch has continued for far too long. As skipper, he isn’t able to contribute and make a difference. And that is bound to impact his captaincy. Can Rohit and the team afford another failure from him? Will it impact their series chances? Does Rohit believe he can do the job for the team and score runs? Is he there mentally? Is his mind strong enough to take up the Boxing Day challenge?
Maybe it is in the mind. The moment Rohit walks out to bat, you kind of sense he is under pressure. His face is giving it away. A microsecond slower compared to earlier, he is not the Rohit we saw in England in 2021. That’s where he has to speak to himself. Introspect. It was good to hear him say that he hasn’t performed and is aware of it. Acceptance is the first step towards redemption. So, what can he do to change things? What’s the way forward for Rohit?
For us on the outside, it is easy to say or ask why he isn’t stepping down and giving it away? For him, it isn’t that easy. He has his team to safeguard, and also a reputation built over a decade to protect. Is giving it up the only option, or can he turn things around?
Just a day earlier, I was speaking to D Gukesh, and the young man said something fascinating. He said he was under serious pressure after Ding Liren made a spectacular comeback in Game 12. He was restless and anxious. That was when he chatted once more with Paddy Upton, his mental-conditioning coach. Gukesh pressed the reset button and went back to all they had planned. Not to get worked up, how to deal with tense moments, how to tire Ding out and more. Nothing fancy. Rather, the very mundane and the very boring. The basics.
That’s what Rohit needs to do – speak to his favoured mind coach and just press the reset button. Get clarity, and not flash outside off stump. Not play balls on fifth stump and wait for his time. Be out there in the middle and wait for the timing to come back. Elite sport is 90 percent mental, and that’s where Rohit is struggling at the moment. It is okay to not be okay, and it is fine to be imperfect. The quest, however, is to be near-perfect on an imperfect day. Prepare as best he can over the next seven days and win it in the mind. If he manages to do so against all odds, India would surely be on the cusp of history at the MCG.