The former batting coach of India, Sanjay Bangar, believes that the T20 World Cup victory in 2024 at the Kensington Oval in Barbados could be a possible reason for the drop of Rohit Sharma’s form in the recent few months in the longest format of the game. He also compared how the Blue Brigade struggled just after their 1983 and 2011 ODI World Cup wins.
It was an embarrassing five-match series for the regular Test captain, Rohit, in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 down under, as the right-handed opening batter finished the series with the help of 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20 with the best score of ten. That’s the lowest score for any Indian captain on a Test trip to Australia.
During a recent discussion on Star Sports, Sanjay Banger dropped a bombshell when he was asked if the issues of the Nagpur-born are greater than the other superstar of the side, Virat Kohli, whose struggle against the balls outside the off-stump is as regular as it could be.
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“This happens when any captain wins the World Cup, whether it is T20 or ODI. I will remind you of the 1983 World Cup, Kapil Dev’s team beat the West Indies, and then the West Indies came to India and thrashed them.” Sanjay Bangar expressed this during the interaction.
Sanjay Bangar advised Rohit Sharma to turn up for domestic cricket
Rohit has aggregated just 164 runs in eight Test matches since the 2024 T20 World Cup victory at an average of 10.93. However, the right-handed batter impressed in the three ODIs in Sri Lanka, scoring 157 runs at an average of 52.33 and a strike rate of 141.44, even though the series ended in favor of the home side for a margin of 0-2.
“In 2011, we won the 50-over World Cup, and the time went very bad from 2011 to 2013. A slight drag-on effect of that earlier moment probably remains, and such things happen once or twice in decades. So is it a slight drag-on effect of that?” Sanjay Bangar added.
Rohit was one of the reasons for the blue brigade’s success in the 50-over and 20-over events. The veteran batter cracked 597 runs in 11 innings during the ODI World Cup at 54.27 and a strike rate of 125.94, while in the T20 WC, he smashed 257 runs in eight innings at an average of 36.71 and a strike rate of 156.70.
Sanjay Bangar claimed that the Test future of the batter would depend on the individual’s hunger for the red-ball format.
“A cricketer is a proud person. When he saw he was unable to perform at the level he was performing earlier and a young player coming up was playing well, he would have weighed all these factors in his mind when he took that decision (to leave himself out in Sydney). He has to figure out whether he is still as hungry to play Test cricket, and if he is hungry, the hunger should be seen in his actions.” The former Indian batter addressed.
Sanjay Bangar urged the Indian captain to follow the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in turning up for the Ranji Trophy whenever they are available.
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“Playing domestic cricket was discussed a lot. Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were also dropped, and their stature is neither less nor more than Rohit Sharma. Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are, even today, sweating it out on the dusty soil. He will have to show that kind of hunger.” The renowned commentator, Sanjay Bangar, concluded.
It will be interesting to see if Rohit turns up for Mumbai’s very next Ranji clash or gets picked for their next Test tour in England in June 2025.