Rohit Sharma has donned many hats for his team - guide, captain, friend and critic - but now he must set the tone with his bat in a series which could define his captaincy
Rohit Sharma sat alone in the Wankhede dressing-room after India had been thrashed 3-0 by New Zealanders. His teammates had already left. The Kiwis were celebrating quietly in their dressing rooms, with their occasional hoops if joy drifting through. The stadium staff mention how Rohit couldn't leave the arena. Many of them saw him not long ago at Wankhede, bathed in public adulation following the T20 World Cup victory. Maybe it's a circle of life.
Rohit won't be in Perth, and Jasprit will be leading the first Test. The pre-series coverage was, understandably focused on Virat Kohli. Rohit has become a ghostly figure, despite being the captain and star of the team. He has been preoccupied with other issues, from his children to recent on-field problems.
The New Zealand defeat shook the system. It won't surprise anyone if, before the tour to Australia, he feels a sense of anxiety or uncertainty. India and him are also vulnerable due to the injuries of key players.
Rohit has two sides at this point - the batsman, and the leader. Both have been overlapping in recent years, with one affecting the others overtly.
It might be a good idea to look at his most popular meme in order to understand the challenges he faces with a young, inexperienced team. The 'garden ghoomne wale log' comment that he made about his team's lack of cricketing intelligence and intensity went viral, as a positive mark of his earthy/desi leadership style. In retrospect, the jokes are funny, but the fact that India won the series against England shows a lot about their young players.
The team is made up of young men who have mostly played in age-group or IPL tournaments. They do not have the experience of playing first-class cricket. Barring Sarfaraz Khan. They have not toiled through seasons or campaigns. They aren't familiar with the art of building spells, altering the tempo of their innings according to the session demands. The majority of them either spend their time pounding the ball at T20s, or spending hours in the nets working on their individual batting and bowling skills. This is not a complaint but merely a comment on modern cricket. Rohit was a captain at this point in his career and in Indian cricket.
Teacher Captain
He had to teach the basics of cricket, such as how to attack in a group. He had to show them how to bat. He had to warn them not to be carried away by a small amount of success. He warned them of the dangers they would face if they made a mistake. Shubman Gil was almost dropped midway through the England series less than a month ago. Rishabh Pant had not recovered from his injury a year before. Mohammad Siraj could not find his game in India. Rohit's team was forced to accept the state's help because players with domestic cricket experience like Shreyas Bharat Rajat Patidar Srikar Bharat, Mukesh Kumru couldn't find their Test game. Ishan Kishan, for example, had his own problems. Only a few novices were left. Some have also developed ambitions to be leaders.
His predecessors might have planned how to implement the philosophy or ideology of their team. Rohit had to adapt his philosophy to fit the needs of this young team.
Rohit, the Test batsman, has fallen short in this area. The fact that he played a full-on attacking role during white-ball cricket was admirable and inspiring, as it lifted an entire team from a philosophical swamp. He set up the aggressive template in order to get them to the promised land of run feasts, so that his players could then attack with all their might. This approach was perfect for these formats. India needed to be freed from its self-imposed restrictions. The white-ball squad lacked the urgency they so desperately needed. It was up to Rohit, an older man to lead the young players.
The current Test squad lacks a new sensibility, one that is characterized by grit and patience, adaptability and intensity in the field. Rohit's 2021 Test Batting in England was the answer. He transformed his instincts and became one of the world's best compactly classic Test openers.
It wasn't easy. In an interview with this newspaper weeks before the ODI World Cup in 2023, the conversation veered towards that transformation.
The player searched his hotel room and couldn't locate a bat. As the kit was on the team bus, he said: "I would have been able to show you the exact grip change I made but what I cannot show you is how much pain my wrists were in while trying to make it. It took me a while to change my grip to tighten it up and be compact. It wasn't for lbw, which required a change in footwork. Instead, it was to deal with the balls that were in the off-stump channels. How to play the line or leave the line in order for any ball that is swinging or seaming away to go past the edge. It was painful to have to retrain my muscles. "But nothing is impossible if you want to and are willing to put in the effort."
Question of Approach
In Australia, it will be interesting to watch if he returns to his 2021 style or continues to attack as he did in recent years. He has been saying for a while that batsmen must find a way to score runs and keep scoring. After the series defeat, he added: "We're sad." You should be sad. It does not mean you need to change everything. We play cricket one way. Just a small change in our style will do. That's it."
There is a real vulnerability in the top order. Yashasvi is making her first Australian tour. Shubman Gil isn't in Australia for the first test and other than Rishabh Pan, India's principal batsman, nobody else is in good form. Not Kohli, not KL Rahul. Dhruv Jurel is probably the only batsman to have shown that he can play well on these tracks, but he's never faced the Test-quality of Australia.
What is the best approach for Rohit then? The best approach for Rohit is to try and score quick runs, or show his team how patience, grit and attacking once the Kookaburra Ball eases off can help put out the fire. He must be in a good position to do this, as he needs to use all of his batting dimensions.
He must have faith in his team, that they will be ready to play on all levels: mentally, physically and technically. They are not a group of individuals who only focus on themselves but are able to look beyond themselves and forge a team. It is important that a team does not need to have to be told that they should not'meander in the garden'. They also don't require to be told that they must wear a helmet or an abdomen guard when fielding close to their opponents.
It is crucial that he guides them, as he did when he exhibited the best way to bat in white ball cricket. It is impossible to say that he does not care about the game or is not conscientious. He's someone who cares about the future of Indian cricket and is concerned with the life goals of young people.
This tour will be decided by how Rohit bats. He doesn't have to bat with the same monastic discipline that was needed in England, where the ball is constantly moving. Instead, he should make a more rational start, before allowing his attacking urges the space they deserve. It will also be down to his leadership, especially if India has a poor start to the first two Tests.
He returns to Australia where he experienced selectorial disappointment in 2012. Mixed feelings in 2014. Happiness of a Series Win in 2018. And unadulterated happiness in 2021. Sitting on the steps outside the dressing room in Brisbane, Pant's off-drive clinched the memorable series win.
How will he end this tour? Is he alone in the dressing room at the SCG, contemplating whether to call it quits on his international career? Or is he rejoicing in an inspiring turnaround of fortunes and looking ahead with great confidence to the June Test tour in England?
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