Ahead of his much-anticipated Test return, India star Rohit Sharma has downplayed all the hype. Rohit is a part of India’s Test squad for the upcoming tour of Australia.
Rohit earned the recall in the Test side after his impressive showing in the white-ball format. His contrasting performances in the limited-overs and Test cricket have left the entire cricketing world baffled. One of the finest cricketers of the white-ball, Rohit is surprisingly yet to cement his place in the Test team even after making his debut five years ago.
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For a player of his calibre, the constant struggle in red-ball cricket can be embarrassing. His Test career started with a bang. Drafted in the team for the series against Windies in 2013 which will be always remembered as the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s testimonial series, Rohit managed to steal the thunder for a while. In his first two innings, he slammed two centuries, becoming only the fifth batsman to do so.
However, those two terrific knocks were not the precursor of how his Test career would unfold. Earlier this year, he lost his place in the Test side after the poor tour of South Africa. He was preferred over Ajinkya Rahane in the playing XI but was dropped from the team after poor show in the first two Tests.
He also did not find a place in the squad for a one-off Test against Afghanistan in June and five-match series in England in August-September.
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But the selectors have gambled on him once again after his stunning form in the ODIs and T20Is.
No surprises then that the cricketing world is keenly waiting to see how Rohit performs on his Test return. However, the right-handed batsman made it clear that he is not bothered too much about the hype.
“I am not thinking about the Test match. I am someone who doesn’t think too far ahead. All I am thinking is going back, taking few days off, and take the flight to Australia. If I try and stay in present, it works for me,” Rohit said while addressing the media after India thrashed West Indies 3-0 in the T20 series.
Rohit further said it will be important for India to start well in Australia.
“Test matches are something I was looking forward [to] for a long time. It will be a nice to go out there and play a Test match for India. As a batsman, I don’t think about my past performances. Every game is a new game. Every time I go out there in the middle, I keep things simple. This game is simple if you keep it simple. If you overthink, it can get complicated. So it is important to stay in [the] present. It is important to start well in Australia and then, take it from there,” he said.
India’s tour starts with a three-match T20 series from November 21 before the two side’s face-off in a 4-Test series. India will also play a three-match ODI series against Australia in January 2019.
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