The absence of India’s best batsman and captain, Virat Kohli, gave country’s premier limited overs batsman and vice-captain, Rohit Sharma, a golden opportunity to prove his mettle in the International arena.
The year of 2017 belonged to Rohit Sharma hands-down. Many reckoned the year 2018 would have been the breakthrough year for the Mumbai-lad.
There exists a school of thought who believe that the Mumbai Indians captaincy in IPL was the turning point in Rohit’s career.
The added responsibility did a world of good for Rohit Sharma-the batsman. During the initial stages of his career, Rohit was accused of giving his wickets away via loose shots out of the blue.
Those were the times when Rohit languished in the lower middle order in the star-studded Indian batting lineup. Clearly, the promotion of Rohit on top of the order proved to be the defining moment for the ever talented player.
Since the Champions Trophy of 2013 in England, the Mumbaikars statistics is at par with Virat Kohli. In fact, Rohit, even after a dismal South African series, holds the record for the highest average for an opener in ODIs (53.8 in 96 innings).
Keeping his form across all formats in mind, as well as the away tours, pundits predicted that season of 2018 would turn out to be the coming of Rohit Sharma as one of the greats of the game.
The Struggle in Whites
However, the Indian vice-captain failed miserably in the whites of the country. His presence in the team meant that tried and tested Ajinkya Rahane had to sit out in overseas conditions.
Rahane is one of the rare breeds of players whose home records is only trumped by the overseas statistics. Somehow, Rahane thrives under conditions unfavourable for batting.
India lost the matches at Cape Town and Centurion. In the hindsight, things might have been different if a player of the calibre of Rahane played those matches where Indian batting struggled.
Rahane proved that his axing from the XI was blunder after the innings he played in Joburg, setting up an Indian victory. Bottomline, Indians might have faced defeat in South Africa to accommodate Rohit Sharma in the batting lineup.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli received a substantial amount of flak for including Rohit in the XI. The man with three double centuries to his name in ODIs, had a perfect opportunity to answer his critics in coloured clothing and regain his captain’s trust.
What followed in the ODI and T20I series was even more disheartening as the limited overs format is considered as one of his stronger suits. Keeping the trend from the Test series consistent, Rohit Sharma turned out to be Kagiso Rabada’s bunny. KG dismissed Rohit on six occasions cumulatively on the Indian tour.
Rabada, then, passed on the baton to rookie Junior Dala during the T20Is to make Sharma his bunny. Rohit lost the wicket to Dala in all three T20I matches.
Struggle in coloured clothing
When we talk about numbers, Rohit averages a modest 31 in his last six ODI knocks, largely affected due to the 115 at Port Elizabeth. With the change in format from ODIs to T20Is, one might have thought the former Deccan Charger would express himself with freedom.
Following a dismal T20I series, Rohit also struggled in the Asiatic conditions against his favourite opposition Sri Lanka. Sharma had a perfect opportunity to shed off his torrid run and get some runs under his belt.
Unfortunately, the flamboyant batsman could not open his account in the tournament opener against Sri Lanka and gave away his start against Bangladesh.
The harrowing fact above all is, Rohit averages 9.8 in his last five outings for India, which includes a couple of ducks. The Nidahas Trophy might actually have been a golden opportunity for someone like Mayank Agarwal who scored heaps of runs in the domestic circuit.
Other Prospects
Unfortunately, the Karnataka batsman has to wait for his opportunity to even get into the squad. With the presence of the stalwarts of Indian cricket, it looks distant for even for someone like Mayank. The K’taka opener amassed 2000 runs in a singles season.
Mayank Agarwal’s Karnataka teammate, KL Rahul, who averages 50 in T20I cricket, does not a place in the lineup. Especially with the presence of Dhawan and Rohit opening the batting.
India has deep reserves in batting. But the poor form of Rohit Sharma has eclipsed the chances of other exciting prospects featuring in the Indian lineup.
Therefore, in conclusion, the like of Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Aggarwal, KL Rahul have been compromised to accommodate Sharma in the Indian team.
The Mumbai batsman has to understand the value of the position he bats in. Also keep a tab on the talents in the queue, raring to go for a place in the Indian team.
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