Follow UsNow that it’s officially over, what is your favourite Rohit Sharma memory in whites?
Was it his carnage in Chennai 2021 on a pure rank turner or his match-winning century at The Oval later that year? Was it his debut 177 in 2013 or the two centuries he hit against England in 2024 as a late career resurgence?
I, for one, would find it hard to pick one. Not because those innings were not great, but there was a certain sense of incompleteness to the whole thing. And with Rohit Sharma, that feeling always carried an extra ounce of burden. When Rohit batted in Tests, it either left you in awe or frustration. Sometimes in equal measure. But the bigger struggle of an unfulfilled career made a massive difference to the legacy he has left behind.
But all said and done, and with all limitations, one needs to give it to Rohit for the way he has managed to change his overall batting philosophy after a late-career move to the opening slot in 2019. It was a masterstroke from Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri that made India even more dominant at home and an extremely competent unit away from home.
He averaged 92.66 in 2019 and followed it up with an average of 47.68 in 2020. In a year, when the troika of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara struggled to buy enough runs, Rohit carried the burden of Indian batting like a tiger.
It was also down to Rohit’s precision as a batter that helped him settle down. His batting, pretty much like Mayank Agarwal or Virender Sehwag, was suited for Indian conditions. It is where he achieves liberation. But he was more than just a flat-track bully.
On the dust bowls of Chennai, with India losing the grip over the second Test to England after being 1-0 down, Rohit showed his range that would perhaps be considered one of the greatest innings ever played in subcontinent cricket history. Not just in terms of patience, but by sidelining the basic virtues of his batting, he showed a truly different dimension.
Rohit doesn’t hate any word more than ‘talent’. It was always used as a double-edged sword to negate everything he had worked hard for. He wanted to be known as someone who cared enough for his batting to reinvent himself multiple times to stay relevant in modern cricket.
Be it becoming a beast in the powerplay in ODIs to infuse a completely different approach to India’s ODI batting during the 2023 ODI World Cup, or how he negated the barrage of swing from English pacemen during the 2021 tour, with Rohit, it was always finding his niche. He could do that not just because of his ball sense, but also because of the amount of preparation he had put into his game.
Sometimes, it all came crashing down, like it did in 2024 during the home season against Bangladesh and New Zealand before a devastating series loss to Australia. His self-assured hubris didn’t allow him to let go of the position. Hence, despite standing himself down for the final Test against Australia, he harboured himself for the England series. A Ranji game followed, but it was soon clear that Indian cricket was better off without him in the longest format of the game.
But Indian cricket will remember Rohit as someone who loved red-ball cricket as much as anyone who preceded him. Even though not exceptional, that’s a good thing for the era he belonged to.
Rohit didn’t need to be a giant. He did what was asked of him — and then some more. He bridged the gap between flair and functionality, between showmanship and substance in the era of India’s transition in Tests. One just wishes his career could have lasted a little longer and the transition a little shorter.