The Indian Test captain, Rohit Sharma, has been going through a tough period in the game’s longest format. His struggle continues in the ongoing five-match series of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024, even during the fourth red-ball clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), which was the very last red-ball fixture for India in this ongoing year.
Rohit Sharma came into the series on the back of a poor time at home against New Zealand with the help of 91 runs in six innings at an average of 15.15, shouldering on just one half-century on his name before he missed the opening the game of the Australia trip due to the paternity leave at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
Since his arrival, the Nagpur-born has been dismissed four times to his opponent captain, Pat Cummins, as so many of his issues were exposed throughout the five innings down under. During the second day-night pink-ball affair at the Adelaide Oval, the veteran was squared by Cummins in the second innings before he kept on getting outside edges in the next two fixtures in Brisbane and Melbourne.
“I don’t know where Rohit Sharma is mentally”- Sourav Ganguly
The right-handed batter in the last 14 Test innings has collected only 150 runs as questions have started to grow over his position in the side, going into the fifth and final game of the series during the New Year’s Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Rohit Sharma had a terrific start in the five-match home series against England at the beginning of the year when he smashed two centuries to help them claim the series by a margin of 3-1. But since then, it has only dropped. The 37-year-old finished the year with only 610 runs in 25 innings at an average of 25.42 and a strike rate of 64.76, shouldering on two centuries and as many half-centuries with the best score of 131.
That has been the batter’s lowest Test batting average in a year since 2015 when he managed only 326 runs in 13 innings at an average of 25.08 without any milestones on his name. At one point, The career average was over 45, has come below 41.
Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian captain and the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), didn’t mince his words for the dry time of the senior batter in the five-day format. But he refused to comment on the future of the Mumbai batter as he has no clue of where Rohit Sharma stands ‘mentally.’
“Rohit Sharma is not able to score runs. He played a loose shot in the first innings. There is a second innings here in Melbourne and two more innings in Sydney, so he needs to play well. India will need Rohit to fire. I don’t know where Rohit is mentally. It is very difficult to comment right now.” The Kolkata-born expressed this during his recent interview on TV9 Bangla.
Another former captain and opener of the blue brigade, Sunil Gavaskar, reckoned that the 37-year-old would leave his spot in the Test side if he didn’t score in Melbourne and Sydney.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma Slammed For His Reaction On Yashasvi Jaiswal’s Drop Catches By Ex-Australian Cricketers
The former batter of Australia, Mark Waugh, highlighted that the fourth innings would be crucial for the current captain, and a failure should be enough for him to pass the captaincy baton to Jasprit Bumrah during the fifth Test. Ganguly, on the other hand, isn’t much disappointed with the batting of Virat Kohli.
“Virat Kohli is not playing badly, but just getting out. He scored a century in Perth, was set in the first innings (Melbourne), and was playing nicely.” The former left-handed batter concluded.