One hundred forty-eight ODIs, 5,008 runs, and a highest of 264 is an impressive record, but on the flipside Rohit's story in Tests doesn't reflect the same glory
Dinesh Lad
There's something very intriguing when Indian batsman Rohit Sharma dons the whites. One hundred forty-eight ODIs, 5,008 runs, and a highest of 264 is an impressive record, but on the flipside Rohit's story in Tests doesn't reflect the same glory.
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In his last 16 Tests, he has accumulated a paltry 658 runs at an average of 23.50. And Rohit has done nothing to improve that even today on Day One of the first Test against New Zealand, falling for 35 to left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner.
The three-match series will be an internecine challenge for the Mumbai batsman, where Rohit will have to either buck up or perish. So what's going wrong with the Mumbai Indians skipper?
New Zealand's wicketkeeper Tom Latham and Martin Guptill appealing against India's Rohit Sharma in Kanpur yesterday. Pic/PTI
"Rohit is playing his shots too early. Today too, he was early on the shot and his bat shook, that's why he was caught at long-on.
"He is also falling prey to media pressure and he can't handle this. It's disturbing him mentally. He's not going out there with a free mind," Dinesh Lad, Rohit's school coach, who had spotted him when he was just 11, told mid-day yesterday. "Twenty20 cricket is affecting his Test form.
"He has had to play too many T20s and ODIs. In limited overs cricket, if you play your shots early, the ball will reach the boundary line because the white ball travels faster than the red one," Lad added.
Lad believes Rohit has still got it in him to get back in form, but should play more domestic matches to get used to the red ball.
"He just needs one innings to make a strong comeback. I will call to tell him not to get pressurised, since all is well where his technique is concerned," he said.
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