Let Skipper Rohit's Bat Speak for Itself

Melbourne: Languid and easy. Two words that have often been used to describe Rohit Sharma can so easily, depending on form, come to mean worn-out and lackadaisical. Many would be leaning towards the latter interpretation now.

As talk of a big player’s retirement swirled around the press box at Gabba on Thursday, the India skipper’s name was mentioned more than once before being eventually ruled for lack of evidence. But even the fact that Rohit was mentioned points to just how disappointing his stay at the wicket have been on this tour and in this year .

In the two matches (three innings) that Rohit has spent in the middle, he has scored 19 runs at an average of 6.33. It isn’t just the lack of runs though. The Aussies have looked like they have got his measure.

“I have not batted well,” Rohit said, acknowledging his meagre returns. “There is no harm in accepting that but I know what is in my mind and how I am preparing. All those boxes are very much ticked. It is just about spending as much time as possible (at the crease). I am pretty sure I am just there.”

The “just there” business is a spotty one at the best of times. In 2024, across 13 matches, the India skipper averaged 26.39. Takes only the New Zealand series (at home) and the Australia series into account and across five matches, he has averaged just 12.22.

“As long as my mind, body and feet are moving well, I am pretty happy with how things are panning out for me,” Rohit said on Wednesday. “Sometimes, numbers tell you that it has been a while since (a batter) has got big runs but for a person like me, it is all about what kind of prep I am having before each game and how I am feeling about myself.

“I am feeling good about myself to be honest. Runs are not showing that but inside it is a different feeling.”

Rohit’s shift to the middle-order has yielded scores of 3, 6 and 10 this series. And while it is good for the team because KL Rahul has benefitted from the promotion to the opening slot, what does this mean for the skipper — in the long and short term?

At 37, Rohit doesn’t have a lot of time. He needs to make every opportunity count, be it in the middle or the top of the order. Rahul’s success means that moving him back down the order is risky and Rohit looks burdened batting lower down the order.

India’s top-order fragility has meant that the mindset instantly has to be a defensive one and that has never been Rohit’s game. And there is a fear that his batting woes will start to affect his captaincy. The team has looked bereft of ideas when it comes to containing or dismissing Travis Head and that is where leadership comes into play.

Rohit was non-committal when asked about whether he would move back up the order for the fourth Test in Melbourne.

“I am not too sure about that. We have got a week off and we will think about it,” he said. “There are a lot of chats. Whatever is the best thing for the team to do, we will do.”

But, from a selfish point of view, what is best for Rohit? Some of his best batting in Test cricket was in England in 2021 when he scored his first overseas hundred. The hallmark of that knock and his batting on that tour was the manner in which he left the ball and the patience he showed. Had he continued on that path his Test returns would have been better (he averages 31.89 away from home). However, a bid to be more aggressive in white-ball cricket (for the ODI and T20 World Cups) might have thrown off his Test match game too.

He has, however, been in Australia long enough to know that he has run out of excuses.

“I think Rohit obviously will get the opportunity to play in the next couple of matches, that’s for sure. But maybe at the end of it, if he hasn’t scored runs, my feeling is that he himself will take the call,” Sunil Gavaskar told ABC Sport on Tuesday.

“He’s a very conscientious cricketer, he will not want to be a burden on the team. He’s a cricketer who cares very deeply for Indian cricket. So if he doesn’t score runs in the next couple of games, I think he himself will step down,” said Gavaskar.

Whether he does that or not, it is clear that the clock is ticking. of this is to suggest that Rohit can’t get back among the runs but making this mental switch isn’t easy. It will require the languid and easy genius to perhaps show us his serious side. After all, as the skipper once said himself, ‘Koi bhi garden ghoomta nahi dikhna chahiye’.

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