Rohit Sharma has been trending on social media for some days now. First, he was in the news for purchasing Rs 30-crore sea-facing flat in Worli. And, then, he made headlines for getting out cheaply twice in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. The most gifted batsman of our time is being trolled on Twitter and Facebook. Many are calling him the villain of India's 63-run defeat. Scores of nine and four haven't done any good to his 'hitman' image. For someone who started his Test career with back-to-back hundreds against the West Indies in 2013, such a long lull has given everyone enough fodder to question his abilities as Test batsman.
The stylish right-hander failed to read the line of the ball in both innings. Having survived a leg-before decision thanks to a no-ball from Dhammika Prasad, Sharma failed to read an incoming delivery from Angelo Mathews a few minutes later. He played across the line and was trapped plumb in front.
The second dismissal was much softer. Sharma, this time, chose not to play across but opened himself up only to see left-arm spinner Rangana Herath's beautiful flight beat his bat and hit the top of off. Not only are his returns poor, but the manner in which he gets out is also baffling. Sharma has been projected as the perfect No. 3 in place of Cheteshwar Pujara. Virat Kohli, calls Sharma an "impact player".
According to the Test skipper, Sharma is "someone who can take one session away from the opposition." But his poor performances — not just in the first Test but also the warm-up game — has prompted critics to question the "aggressive" skipper's decision of playing Sharma instead of Pujara. So what is the problem with Sharma, the very batsman who has two ODI double hundreds to his name. His childhood coach, Dinesh, Lad the problem is more psychological than technical.
"He plays with a straight bat and has a compact defence. The other day I told someone about his solid defence. But his dismissals stunned me. I think he is under pressure. Look at the dismissals and you will realise that he is missing the line of the ball. It is due to lack of match practice. The schedule is packed with T20s and ODIs. Players don't get time to play multiple day games. You suddenly go into a big series after playing too many T20s and ODIs. The red ball is different and moves and turns a lot than the white one. One cannot just work in the nets. One also needs solid match practice," Lad said.
Lad added that Sharma needs to be given some time. "He should have done what Virat did. Virat went to Chennai and played for India 'A'. Rohit should have followed suit. Look, we know he has the talent and the technique for Test cricket. He has scored a lot of runs in Ranji and Duleep cricket. I am sure he will be successful in the next two Tests games," Lad said.
Even though Sharma may have the strong backing of skipper Kohli and team director Ravi Shastri, it is time that he pulls up his socks before it's too late. He is running out of time.
