Indian batsman Rohit Sharma has been a dominant force in the Indian team in the limited-over formats of the game.
With two double hundreds to his name, one of which is a world record, Rohit Sharma stands as one of the classiest and most elegant batsmen of the generation to hold the willow in hand. However, unlike his career in the blue colours of India, his Test career has not been something to be proud of.
In his international career which stretches over a decade now, he has featured in just 22 Test matches for the national team. Be it an injury or lack of form, Sharma has enjoyed Test cricket majorly from the bench. But the second Test between India and Sri Lanka in Nagpur saw a different side of the story. Rohit Sharma made a return to the Indian Test side, and he scripted the chapter beautifully.
The clinical stroke player marked his return with an unbeaten hundred in the first innings of the match batting comparatively lower down the order. Rohit Sharma appeared in Test cricket for the national side after almost a year and his century in came after four years time.
Speaking about his career, he said,
“There will always be regrets in your life. Even if you score 10,000 runs, you will feel, ‘oh, I should have scored 15,000 runs’ or people will tell you, ‘you should have scored 15,000 runs, man!” he said.
Apart from Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay struck century each. Photo Credit: BCCI.
“But for me, I am glad that I am back on my feet because when I went through that injury (thigh surgery in 2016), at one point, I was thinking whether I will be able to walk or not.
“I’m lucky that I am on my feet, playing and scoring some runs, so yes, I’m happy,” Rohit added after India defeated the Sri Lankans by a colossal 239 runs and an innings on Monday.
Rohit Sharma. Image Courtesy: BCCI
“I am not someone who will think about what has happened in the past. I like to see what is in front of me, and yes, that is how I look at it. When I was inexperienced having just come into the team, there were a lot of things that I used to think about, but not anymore. I have passed that age where I shouldn’t be thinking what happened in the past,” he added.
“I should be ready for what is ahead of me, and that’s what matters. What has happened in the past is gone – you can never change it. For me, I can change things looking forward, and looking forward is Delhi Test match and after that one-day series and then the South Africa series,” he said.
“My plans are simple and clear. I don’t want to complicate things which I have in the past, when had I just come into the team, At the end of the day, it’s just a cricket match that you have to play,” Rohit said.
He continued,
“Initially, my focus was much on Test cricket, like ‘Oh no this is Test cricket and I have to do well. I have to do this and that. In thinking that I lost a lot of focus and forgot (lost) what I was there for and what I needed to do and pretty clear in mind which is the most important thing.”
