Follow UsRohit Sharma’s return to domestic red-ball cricket to find some form turned out to be a dud affair on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy clash against Jammu&Kashmir.
The Indian skipper struggled through his 19 deliveries stay at the crease and was dismissed by the 6 feet 4 inches tall right arm pacer Umar Nazir. After finding it hard to get the J&K bowlers away across the first five overs of the clash, Rohit departed after a leading edge off Nazir carried straight to the fielder at mid-off.
However, despite getting the Indian Test skipper out, Nazir refused to celebrate his wicket because he is a Rohit fan.
"I did not celebrate after claiming the wicket of Rohit Sharma. I am a huge fan of his. This was a special moment to take his wicket. This was the first time I bowled to him," the pacer hailing from Pulwama said after the day's play ended in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, Rohit has failed to score more than 20 runs in 10 consecutive innings of red-ball cricket. His last 10 red-ball scores are 3, 9, 3, 10, 6, 3, 11, 18, 8, 0.
His dismissal was eerily similar to how he got out in the first innings of the fourth Test against Australia at the MCG, miscuing a half-hearted pull that ballooned the ball straight to Scott Boland at mid-on.
With his waning form, the 37-year-old Indian skipper will hope for redemption in the second innings.