It could have been a Test series with very limited context. But India’s loss in the World Test Championship (WTC) final has meant that this series is largely about Rohit Sharma. He has to score, and score big. He has to do it as leader, for nothing else will suffice. After the WTC final defeat, Rohit has been in the line for fire for a while. His lack of runs with the bat has been questioned and unless he scores big against the West Indies, the murmurs will only grow louder. And it is interesting that India is playing in the West Indies, the same place where the plan to get Rohit Sharma to open the batting in Test cricket was actually made.
It was a move that was not born overnight. Rather, it had been brewing for a while and it was in the West Indies in August 2019 that Rohit was actually asked to practice against the new ball every single day. Also, this was a move with a history to it. In 2016, Ravi Shastri, then India coach, had asked Rohit to open for Mumbai in an attempt to open up options in the five-day format. Thereafter, Sourav Ganguly also asked for Rohit to be tried out as opener. It was kind of natural because he was in the best form of his life, evident from his five hundreds in the 2019 World Cup. If there was ever an occasion to give him one final opportunity to resurrect his Test career, it was in 2019 as an opener. Prithvi Shaw was out after a drug-related offence, Shikhar Dhawan was out of favour and KL Rahul out of form. Rohit was the go-to man.
Rohit, clearly, had a huge challenge on hand. And he came through with flying colours. Interestingly, as India are back in the West Indies, Rohit is facing yet another challenge. These two Test matches could well be among the most important of his career. He will have to score heavily to silence the murmurs that his reputation precedes him. A true great, there is no debate that Rohit will go down in history as one of the best players to have played the 50-over game for India. And between 2019 and 2022, he could be counted as India’s best batter in Test matches overseas. But now, things are different. He hasn’t scored big in a while and questions are being asked. Some of them fair. Runs and big runs are the only answer that Rohit now needs to give his detractors. Score heavy, and the critics will all fall silent. Lead India to a series win, and things will get better. Failures will mean the pressure starts to mount, and his place as batter and leader questioned.F
From the national team perspective, it is essential we have the captain back in form because India’s next Test assignment is against South Africa in December-January. It will be a really tough tour against the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi. In difficult seam-friendly conditions, the batting line-up will be seriously tested. It is best if the batting unit travels with runs under their belts, giving them the necessary confidence to deal with the Proteas quicks.
In sum, the series is largely about Rohit. If he is successful, the debate will be put to rest. Few will question him as leader and it will give him a breather ahead of the Asia Cup and the World Cup at home. Though the formats are different, a failure in the West Indies series will add hugely to the pressure on Rohit the captain. So while there is context to the series with the World Test Championship cycle starting again, the Rohit issue has added spice to the occasion, making it an interesting series.