Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai
After a rigorous practice session at Shivaji Park, one of Mumbai cricket’s sanctum sanctorums, Rohit Sharma was packing his bags when a young boy ran towards him. Rohit’s security intervened, but he told them to let the boy come. “Aane de usko,” and the youngster’s day was made.
He clicked pictures with his idol. When Rohit was doing the nets, a group of young trainees lined up at a distance to watch the master at work. Rohit’s training session on Thursday drew bigger crowds than the ongoing India-West Indies series. Irrespective of the ODI captaincy snub, he remains ‘Mumbaicha Raja’.
Unless Rohit has internalised Rafi saab’s Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya (Jo mil gaya usi ko muqaddar samajh liya… Main dil ko us makaam pe lata chala gaya), he won’t take his demotion lying down. He is a champion and what he has achieved in white-ball cricket, very few Indian players can match that. During a three-hour training session, with Abhishek Nayar and Dhawal Kulkarni in attendance, Rohit’s determination was visible, his pain/hurt was not.
Rohit hasn’t opted for cooler climes. He is sweating it out in the Mumbai maidans in 32-33 degrees Celsius. Even after scoring more than 11,000 runs and 32 centuries (three double-hundreds) in 50-over cricket, he will go to Australia with a point to prove. Ajit Agarkar’s selection committee, in conjunction with the Indian team management, has sent out a clear message — perform or perish. That from now on, Rohit, and Virat Kohli, would be judged on a series-to-series basis. And as RevSportz reported it first, he will have to play domestic cricket to be considered for the Indian team selection.
Mentioning his age, that he would turn 40 when the next ODI World Cup comes, has become a fashion in almost every discourse of late. Only a year ago, no one was talking about it during the Indian team’s open-top bus parade after the T20 World Cup triumph that turned the ‘Queen’s Necklace’ blue. Very few were talking about Rohit’s age either after his match-winning knock in the Champions Trophy final. That was in March this year.
Has Indian cricket moved on so rapidly that it can bin a bonafide legend, who is still performing in the shorter format, so quickly? Can age be the only factor to judge a player in a skill-based sport like cricket? Didn’t Imran Khan lead Pakistan to the World Cup glory at the age of 40?
A renowned coach (one of his disciples is making waves in Indian cricket at the moment), who chose anonymity due to his professional commitments, believes that a second wind for Rohit is very much possible even at the age of 38.
“Absolutely,” he told RevSportz. “I can see tiny signs. When someone starts to lose weight, get fit and re-find that fun and hunger to put in the work. That’s ominous.”
Rohit knows that the ride has suddenly become bumpy and it’s time to channel his inner Mumbai maidans khadoos to come up with a response. The former India captain is doing that.
Also Read: Exclusive | Rohit focuses on short-ball practice at private facility, physio monitors session
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