Should we be concerned about Rohit Sharma’s IPL form? How much is it going to worry India going into the World Test Championship final?
With Rohit getting out for his second consecutive duck in a one-sided defeat to Chennai Super Kings, these questions were all over social media on Saturday afternoon.
First things first – the WTC final and the IPL have no connection whatsoever. Playing against the red ball in England in early June, and playing on a Chennai turner are two fundamentally different things. While in England, the ball will move and do so appreciably, in the IPL, it is all about trying to attack in the powerplay. Perhaps that’s the first point to take into consideration. When Rohit opens the batting in England, his endeavour will be to leave as many balls as he can outside the off stump. Take as much time as he can to get going without any hurry whatsoever.
He will not hurry into a single shot, and against the likes of Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, the approach will have to be resolute and dogged. The IPL on the other hand is a different beast. Rohit is expected to get going with a strike rate of 140 from ball one, and that’s what has brought about his downfall quite a few times. While there is no debate that spending time in the middle is essential and a few good knocks would indeed help his confidence, there’s also no doubt that the skill-set required in England is very different to T20 cricket.
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For the record, Rohit has the best Test average among Indian batters in England. A figure of 42.3 in swinging conditions is very good, and he was India’s best batsman in the 2021 series by a mile. In fact, it was his absence in 2022 because of Covid that may have cost India the game in Birmingham. In 2021, what was on show from Rohit was patience. He had completely transformed himself and was determined to look ugly if need be. And as Clive Lloyd says so often, “If you have to be successful in difficult batting conditions in England, you must be prepared to look ugly.”
That’s exactly what Rohit did, and did amazingly well. In fact, I remember a conversation ahead of the 2021 IPL in Dubai when he had said that he was actually carrying the Test-match mindset to the Mumbai nets. “I was constantly leaving balls, and Mahela [Jayawardene] who was watching from behind finally said to me, ‘that’s a very good leave, Rohit, but this is a different format and you might just need to play a few more shots.’” Rohit narrated this with a chuckle.
With three or more fielders behind the stumps ready to pouch every edge, the key will be to bat time and bat big. That’s what India failed to do the last time round, when they lost the WTC final to New Zealand. And Rohit will know that only too well as he embarks on another England journey in an attempt to win India an ICC trophy after 10 years.
If India is to win the Oval Test, it is the batting that has to stand up. With Cheteshwar Pujara in special form for Sussex, it will take Rohit and Virat Kohli, as the two most experienced, to put their hands up and put 300 on the board to challenge Australia. In Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, and perhaps Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav, India have enough to challenge the Australian batting. They need runs on the board, and that’s what Rohit and the batters will have to get for them.
What is far more important than his IPL form is whether he is able to change into Test-match mode at such short notice. And this is not just applicable to Rohit. Every Indian batter playing the IPL – Rohit, Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane – will have to do the same to challenge Australia. Except David Warner, no Australian batter is playing the IPL. Needless to say, they will be far better prepared for The Oval. So if we are to be concerned, we should be worried about the time needed to shift mindset and get into Test mode. Not hitting a few sixes in the IPL will make no difference whatsoever to India’s chances at The Oval.
India, it is time to accept, will go in as the underdog, and Rohit, as captain and opening batter, will have to lead from the front to give his side any chance in the one-off match. His record in Test cricket gives us hope, the IPL slump notwithstanding.