Rohit Sharma has only aggregated 104 runs from last 8 innings in Tests at home. Is Rohit Sharma's form a cause of concern ahead of Australia tour?
Rohit Sharma, the skipper of India’s Test team is going through a tough phase both as a batter and a skipper. The current Test team is 0-2 down against New Zealand and became the first India side to lose a Test series at home in 12 years.
The reason for such a defeat can be attributed to poor batting from most of the India batters. Whether it was the 46 all-out at Bengaluru or two below-par outings with the bat in both innings at Pune, the India batters didn’t step up. This includes skipper Rohit Sharma, who is having a lean patch in the ongoing home season.
Rohit and his poor run of form
In the two Tests against Bangladesh, the opener aggregated mere 42 runs in four innings and his poor form continued to the ongoing series as well. In the four innings at Bengaluru and Pune against New Zealand, Rohit could muster just 62 runs with a solitary half-century.
In fact, the India skipper has made just four fifty plus scores in the 19 innings played across 10 Tests in 2024, scoring 559 runs at a paltry average of just over 31. This includes the two centuries he scored against England earlier in the home series. This shows that apart from a couple of big knocks, Rohit has not made any substantial scores in the longest format of the game in 2024.
Rohit’s way out
The current India team prides itself on playing fearless cricket, be it in any format of the game. This thought process comes from skipper Rohit himself and he does walk the talk. But many times, this aggressive mindset got better, resulting in a wicket after getting set.
Even in the Test match at Bengaluru against New Zealand, Rohit chose to attack Tim Southee in challenging conditions rather than playing according to the situation. This cost him his wicket and India faced a massive collapse that couldn’t be reversed.
Rohit Sharma should remember that he isn’t just the captain of the side but also a key batter for the team. So as the runs have dried up from his bat, it has created undue pressure on the batters who follow, often resulting in a top-order batting collapse.
So, Rohit’s contributions with the bat are as important as his captaincy and this should be his wake-up call before the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. The starts he provides at the top of the order will play a key role in his side’s fortunes in Australia. Hence, his consistent poor returns at the top of the order are cause of major concern ahead of the BGT.
Should India look at another opening option?
At this point, it will be a hasty decision to think of any batter other than Rohit Sharma to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in Australia. He has the experience of playing in Australia and has done quite decently there.
Moreover, the Australian pitches will be conducive to stroke making and a batter like Rohit would relish playing in such conditions. He isn’t someone who will be troubled by pace and bounce. So, Rohit should remain the first-choice India’s opener for the BGT.
But at the same time, the former desperately needs runs under his belt to get his confidence back. There is no better way for him to get to scoring rhythm than putting on a show at his home ground, Wankhede, where India will take on New Zealand in the third and final Test match.
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