Vikram Rathour Advised Rohit Sharma To Be Selective With His Shots

Aug 16, 2021 at 2:40 PM

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Vikram Rathour Advised Rohit Sharma To Be Selective With His Shots

Vikram Rathour, India’s batting coach defended the faltering Indian willow-wielders, saying lean patches are part and parcel of the game and it’s a matter of time before runs start flowing from their bats again.

Vikram Rathour said the Indian batsmen are putting in the hard yards at nets in their bid to iron out flaws and return among runs in the ongoing tour of England.

Batting coach Vikram Rathour- PTI
Batting coach Vikram Rathour- PTI

Vikram Rathour Hopes The Good Phases And Results Will Eventually Come As The Cricketers Are Trying Their Best At The Nets

Ajinkya Rahane(61) paired with Cheteshwar Pujara (45) to put up a solid 100-run stand for the fourth wicket to put India in a comfortable position until Moeen Ali turned the tables in the final session. He took down Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja (5) before bad light forced early stumps on Sunday.

“Not really. Not really,” Vikram Rathour said at the virtual post-day press conference after the fourth day’s play in the second Test on Sunday when specifically asked if continuous non-performance of the batters abroad puts him under pressure.

“But of course, we are working hard, it is a unique kind of situation where we are working hard with the players. As long as they are trying their best, working hard or practicing well, results will come. These phases will come,” said Rathour.

Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)
Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)

In their second innings, India was in a spot of bother at 181 for 6, when stumps were drawn on day four, leading by 154 runs.

“When you are playing cricket, you will have lean phases as a batsman, so you need to get through them, you need to keep working hard and keep getting your processes right, and as a support staff we are helping them to do that,” Vikram Rathour said.

“As for added pressure on us, not really, but we do feel concerned if someone is really working hard and he fails. You feel bad, you feel that you know that hard-work is not really paying off.

“But as far as we are concerned with the batters, all of them have absolute faith in them. They will come good and as I said they are having their processes right, they are working really hard in the practice and giving their best. So soon runs will follow,” he said.

An afternoon of dead-batted defiance from Cheteshwar Pujara, 45 from 206 balls, and Ajinkya Rahane, 61 from 146, was followed by a three-wicket intervention that keeps England in the hunt to reward Joe Root’s masterful 180 on the third day with a 1-0 series lead.

Vikram Rathour Advised Rohit Sharma To Be Selective While Adding Virat Kohli Lost His Wicket Due To Lapse Of Concentration

Talking about individual players, Vikram Rathour advised Rohit Sharma to be a “little more selective” with his shots after the opener fell to a pull shot for the second time in the Test series against England.

“There will be analysis, of course every-time they get out, we will be having a talk, what happened and what they were thinking while batting or while they played that shot,” he said.

“As far Rohit is concerned, I think he has made it clear that that is the shot which fetches him runs, that is the shot where he gets runs with, so he is going to play those shots and we are backing him to play those shots, only thing he needs to do is to be a little-more selective, with what to play and when to play…”

Virat Kohli with Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli with Rohit Sharma IMAGE: AFP

According to Vikram Rathour, skipper Virat Kohli, who was dismissed on 20 by Sam Curran, was undone by a lapse in concentration.

“Kohli, I don’t think there was any issue, it was just a lapse in concentration today, where his bat went to the ball, which he shouldn’t have played and nothing more, I don’t think anything old (is) coming back,” the batting coach said.

Vikram Rathour said that the team needs to set a target close to the 200-run mark.

“You are right, this will be a typical fifth day wicket of a Test match, where the ball will go up and down and is also turning, like we saw. So, again like I said earlier, if we can take the target near 200 runs, then it won’t be easy for England,” he said.

“Like (Ravindra) Jadeja bowled in the first innings, he was accurate, if he gets turn from there, he can create problems for the batsmen, and our pace attack is bowling well. If the ball stays up and down, like we are seeing, when the ball is hard, then, if we can add 30-40 runs more and take 1-2 early England wickets, then there will be pressure on them,” he added.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were both disappointing with the bat in the second innings after being dismissed for 21 and 20 respectively. While Rohit Sharma was sent back to the pavilion while playing his favoured pull shot, Virat Kohli chased a wide delivery bowled outside off.

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