India vs Australia: Boxing Day Test could be Rohit's last chance to come good

By Chetan Narula Melbourne: Wednesday was the first time after the Brisbane Test that the Indian team got down to serious net practice. Three days were enough to shake the cobwebs off yet another overseas defeat. The chirpy sounds were back, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan were bonding again, and MS Dhoni was playfully bowling with shiny new Kookaburra balls. Everyone was busy batting or bowling — preparing for the Boxing Day Test. One forlorn figure stood out though. There was no swing in his step. He loitered around in the background as Suresh Raina batted in the company of Ajinkya Rahane and R Ashwin. Hands on hips sometimes, just staring in the distance — Rohit Sharma looked lost. He came to Australia on the back of that world-record ODI score of 264 runs. Already that double hundred is a thing of the past, with scores of 43, 6, 32 and 0 in four innings representing his worrisome present. It is a recognizable pattern from 2013. He had scored his first ODI double ton against Australia in October and left shores with high hopes from a young Test career. In South Africa and New Zealand thereafter, he scored 167 runs in eight innings. It resulted in his demotion within the team. In all of those four Tests, he had batted at number five – above Rahane in the order. But when the England tour came about, he was the one dropped from the side as the team management opted to go in with five bowlers. It is a wonder that for someone who made his international debut for India in 2007, Rohit has not been able to pin down a spot in the Test playing eleven in more than seven years. [caption id=“attachment_2015631” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Rohit’s double hundred is a thing of the past, with scores of 43, 6, 32 and 0 in four innings representing his worrisome present. AP[/caption] “I don’t want to think about what has happened in the past. I would rather be positive,” said Sharma before this series got underway, when asked if the demotion in England had hurt him. “Things don’t always go the way you want. But you have to keep working and get the best out of the situations. I don’t want to think about what happened in the past. It is very important to look ahead. I am focused and looking forward to the big challenge,” he added. An Indian cricketer is like a movie star. They need to project an image of success, an aura of confidence at all times, even in disappointment. Straight-faced as Rohit tried to answer that question, his eyes betrayed him. For years now, he has been built up as ‘the’ God-gifted talent to take Indian cricket forward after Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman departed the scene. Rohit started playing when they were still around, and so the passing-on of the baton was expected to be smooth. It hasn’t happened. Instead, the likes of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have come through, taking those vacant spots one by one. All three of them have had their challenges, especially in this extended run of Test cricket overseas, but they have overcome those hurdles. Kohli got stuck in England, but started in Australia in imperious fashion. Pujara disappointed there too, and in New Zealand, but he has corrected his excesses and runs should flow as soon as umpires allow him time at the crease. Rahane has been stellar, going from strength to strength with every passing month. In their growing years, and even afterwards, none of them were ever talked about in the same breath as Rohit. So what is ailing him in particular? Why, despite all his natural ability, has the Mumbai batsman not been able to reach the heady heights he is supposedly destined for? ‘Too many expectations’ could be an answer. Not from the outside, because that is not how Indian cricket rolls these days. The players are well insulated from media and fans to allow them the independence of thought and freedom from unwarranted pressures. Therefore, if there is any such burden on Rohit’s mind, it is coming from within. Enough people have told him he is quite good, perhaps better than most of his colleagues. When you get told the same thing again and again, you start believing in it. Over a period of time, when the results don’t match, the seeds of self-doubt are sown. Ever since Rohit pre-meditated and shouldered arms to that incoming delivery from Dale Steyn in Durban, this self-doubt has only gotten bigger. Now it is becoming a rut. “Rohit has been criticized for not making the most of the chances he’s got. It was so even in ODIs but we kept giving him chances because we believe that he’s an excellent cricketer. Once he crosses that phase, he’ll be really good for the Indian cricket team. Now you can really see that kind of performance from him in the ODI circuit. We feel he can contribute in Test cricket also. We’ll have to give him ample opportunity,” said MS Dhoni before the second Test at Brisbane. Herein the problem lies. Rohit took up nearly 90-odd matches before he took to opening the innings and got good at it. While that is a finite number of innings in limited-overs cricket, such leeway cannot be granted in the longer format. For him to find his feet in Test cricket over 90 innings means playing close to 50-odd Tests. No one has the patience for it, certainly not in Indian cricket where the domestic circles throw up new names every season. Plus, there is an air of change hanging over the Indian team. The third and fourth Tests could be the last time Dhoni leads India in this format for there must be a move on after the 2015 ODI World Cup. Potentially these are the last four months of Duncan Fletcher’s contract as well. Will the new team management take as kindly to Rohit’s needs? The answer to that question will be found in the number of runs Rohit can score in the two Tests at Melbourne and Sydney. But, with India standing on the cusp of yet another overseas Test series defeat, will he get a chance?