After World Cup heartbreak, Rohit mends self, gets game back

Former Mumbai coach Praveen Amre was in for a big surprise when the Pune Warriors took on Mumbai Indians in the fourth season of the Indian Premier League.

As Rohit Sharma walked on to the ground, Amre, who is the assistant coach for the Pune Warriors, couldn’t believe his eyes. The 24-year-old had lost weight, looked very fit and for a change, his calf muscles were toned – in a nutshell he looked like a guy who had decided to get his act together.

“He came to me and told me how he is working out and controlling his diet and I couldn’t have been happier,” said Amre, who has been Rohit’s coach at Mumbai ever since the right-hander made his Ranji debut. “We always knew he had the talent but missing out on the World Cup was a huge disappointment and he has picked himself up well after that.”

“He had seen lesser talents come from behind and move into the Indian team and that wasn’t easy. Rohit is a talent, there are no two ways about it. But what’s the use of being just good if you can’t play for India and score 5000 Test runs. That would be a waste and I think that is something that Rohit has just realised for himself now,” Amre further added. “But he’ll need to keep it together not just for a few matches but for the next six months. That will be the challenge, he’s always been capable of the one-off great innings but the consistency has eluded him.”

In the first ODI against the West Indies, Sharma gave evidence of his new found determination by stroking a well-crafted 68 off 75, including just three boundaries and a six.

“Talent alone wasn’t going to take him any further and rather than letting people pick on his fitness, he decided to work on it. That sort of dedication yields results not only in the gym but on the ground as well. Mentally, too, he feels at peace,” said Amre.

But when he first came in to bat, he seemed anything but comfortable. The first ball was stuck him on the pads, the second beat him and the third saw Rohit go after it and just about manage to survive. Almost immediately, he was taken apart by the commentators. It seemed like he was stuck in the T20 mode.

The horror continued for a while until he settled down. It was almost as if he realised that he didn’t have Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh or Mahendra Singh Dhoni around to finish the job – he would have to do it himself. Rohit, then, packed the big shots and set about taking singles (36 of them) and twos (9 of them). He had clearly got the planning right.

“I have always said missing out on the World Cup was a personal disappointment. But I have to move on and establish myself in the present series. Also, I have to ensure that India’s World Cup reputation is kept intact,” Rohit said after the game. “When you play for India it is a given that fans and media would talk about your performance. I have no problem with it. But yes I have worked extremely hard over my fitness in the last three months and I want this tour to count for me”

Amre also felt that somewhere along the way criticism failed to matter to Rohit anymore. “It was almost as if he was saying, ‘I have the talent, so the criticism is to be expected.’ But that is why the period of self-discovery that he has had in the recent past will help him in the long run. He knows what he wants and there’s no greater driving force than that.”