Rohit Sharma has gone through one his worst runs as a Test batter and captain. Not only has he lost six of his last seven matches as skipper, but also his form with the bat has nosedived. Former India batter and batting coach Sanjay Bangar believes that if Rohit has said that he isn’t going anywhere, then he has to earn his place back by scoring runs in domestic cricket.
India lost the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia 1-3, and Rohit played in three of the five Tests — missing the first one in Perth while on paternity leave and “stepping aside” from the last match in Sydney because of his poor form.
In between he scored just 31 runs in five innings, for an average of 6.20, which is the worst for a visiting captain in a Test series Down Under.
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“When you are 37 years old…and see that you are not able to perform at the same level like before and you see young players performing better…he must have weighed these factors in his mind when he took that decision (to step aside from the fifth Test in Australia),” said Bangar on Star Sports.
Questions have been raised about the reluctance of stalwarts like Rohit and Virat Kohli in playing domestic cricket despite their continuous failures at the top level.
“He has to find out whether he is still hungry for Test cricket; and if he is, then it should show in his actions, like playing domestic cricket, which has been talked about a lot,” Bangar said.
He also gave examples of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who have been overlooked by the BCCI selectors but continued to fight it out for their state teams.
“Cheteshwar Pujara also got dropped, so did Ajinkya Rahane, and their stature is in no way less or more than Rohit Sharma. They are on the same pedestal,” Bangar said. “Rahane and Pujara are still breaking a sweat (in domestic cricket). Rohit has to show that kind of hunger.
Bangar hinted that for big international players, it’s a big drop in motivation to play in front of empty stands in domestic cricket. But that shouldn’t stop them from doing what earned them their place in world cricket.
“Domestic cricket happens in empty grounds. It’s a big drop-down from the intensity, from the platform; but every player has started from there,” Bangar added.
In the middle of the fifth Test in Sydney, Rohit broke the silence and cleared the air around the reason for his absence from the playing XI, saying that he is not retiring, but decided to “step aside” for the match so that somebody who is in better form can play.
“Even at this stage, he (Rohit) has expressed interest to play for India,” said Bangar. “He has come forward and said ‘I am not going anywhere, I still want to play.” So to follow that up I am sure he will score big in domestic cricket; then nobody can stop him, but he has to show that form.”
