File photo of Rohit Sharma.© AFP
India’s ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma returned to form during the side’s recently-concluded three-match series against England. While the first match of the ODI series saw Rohit getting dismissed for 2 runs, the second game witnessed one of the finest knocks from his bat. Rohit slammed 119 runs off 90 balls with the help of 12 fours and 7 sixes. The right-handed batter hit the England bowlers all over the park for fun as his knock helped India register a one-sided victory in the game.
Before the ODI series, Rohit was part of India’s tour of Australia, where he played three Tests and scored only 31 runs across the six innings. Such poor was his performance that Rohit decided to drop himself for the final match of the series despite him being the regular skipper of the side in the format. He then played Ranji Trophy for Mumbai and there too his lean patch with the bat continued. Rohit could score only 3 and 28 across the two innings of the match vs Jammu and Kashmir.
While Rohit played in the domestic tournament, his friend and India teammate Shardul Thakur was also a part of the game for Mumbai. In a recent interview, Shardul has revealed how confident Rohit was even during his poor form with the bat.
“He played during Jammu and Kashmir Ranji Trophy game and failed to score runs. He could not also score runs in Australia Tests as well. So we were talking normally. I told him a couple of things. He said, ‘Nahi re, mujhe pata hai. Abhi nahi ho raha hai run, but ek innings chahiye mujhe phir mera run ho jayega. (No buddy. I know I am unable to score runs currently, but I need just one innings to get back to form),” Shardul told Revsportz.
“He is an opener, so any opener could get out with a new ball. And if you are getting out at a score of 10 or less, I don’t think it needs to be judged. He is such a big player, has won so many games for India. As a friend and spectator, I am always confident that he will perform at the right time.
“The way he was batting in the nets. Nothing looked bad with his batting. He was looking extremely comfortably batting in the nets. It was just a matter of poor luck that runs were not coming.”
Rohit will next be seen in action during India’s Champions Trophy appearance. The side kicks off its campaign on February 20 with a match against Bangladesh before facing Pakistan in a much-awaited clash on 23rd. India will then play New Zealand in their last league match on March 2.
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