For those who know me, they often get confused of my love-hate equation for Rohit Sharma. I've always shared a roller coaster ride relationship with Rohit Sharma. Because let's accept his inconsistency has sometimes driven even his die hard fans crazy. However, when in full flow, the sight of watching him bat is more pleasing than anyone else.
His journey has been a topsy turvy one. He has seen failure, a lot of it, in his early days. He has been a disappointment in the yesteryears. And then he has followed it up with success at an alarming rate. The stuff he has achieved within a short time is unimaginable.
If Rohit Sharma's era can be divided into 2 parts, it would be pre 2013 and post 2013 era. The pre era would consist of a talented batsmen being delivered a spoonful of opportunities and still failing to rise to the occasion. It wasn't easy for him to break into the team which boasted of yesteryear greats. But then he got the chances and spilled it at a consistent basis. Every time he went out of the team, he would deliver some strong performances in the domestic tourney and be brought back to the national side.
Many would’ve thought his exploits in the CB series 2008 might have sealed the deal for him. However, that wasn’t the case. It’s not easy being an in and out person in the team. Playing a game with the fear of being dropped in the next. This in and out process continued until another masterstroke decision by MS Dhoni changed his career for the better. The Captain Cool promoted him as an opener, an opportunity which Rohit Sharma grabbed with both his hands.
When Sachin Tendulkar scored 200, it took the world apart. While people imagined the possibility of someone scoring 200 in a game, they would've never imagined someone going bonkers and scoring 264 runs in a game. At most grounds, it would be a winning total and Rohit Sharma did it all alone. To top that, the Sri Lankan innings failed to match Rohit's total in that game.
And he didn't do it once, he did it thrice. Though, I've my own reasons to believe that his 209 knock against Australia stands right at the top.
Three IPL titles, attaining captaincy after the greatest in that department i.e. Ricky Ponting stepped down and then setting such high standards. Rohit Sharma is simply unbelievable. The fact that he has an IPL hattrick is even more compelling.
Yes he might have a great team management and enjoy the guidance of the legends in the Mumbai Indians dugout, but let's not forget that the decisions in the field were taken all by himself. The thrust of confidence he gave to players like Bumrah, Pandya bros and Nitish Rana, keeping the team together and how valiantly he led the unit spoke great about his character as a captain. Not as calm as MS Dhoni, not as short tempered as Gambhir and not as aggressive as Virat Kohli. Rohit Sharma has had his own way of dealing with captaincy.
If someone told me in 2011 that Rohit Sharma will score 10 hundreds or a single double century or a test debut century, I would’ve had a better chance of believing that ‘the earth is flat’. But this is how Rohit Sharma is. Unbelievable. His transformation is certainly on par with Bruce Wayne’s transformation to BATMAN.
Often Rohit Sharma is criticised for not stepping up but if you check on the stats, after Virat Kohli, he has been India’s most reliable batsman. Talent is surely one word he hates, so we’ll use the word blessed. The 30 year old batsman is blessed with style in his rampage strokes. His cricketing shots are so beautiful that I can totally imagine bowlers going awestruck inspite of being hit out of the park. For someone who has proved to be an assassin to the bowlers, he’s rightly called the HITMAN.
I’ve been following Rohit Sharma since the start of his career. While I may have not been an admirer in his initial days, I’ve been a part of this expedition. It was a breathtaking moment as he walked out for the toss against Sri Lanka. From being a player pushed into the team on the basis of his capabilities, to captaining the Indian team a decade later, this journey has surely been incredible to say the least.
So far in South Africa, he was having a horrendous tour. ‘There’s light at the end of every tunnel’, rightly said in the case of Rohit Sharma. All those failures didn’t let him bow down. He stepped up at Port Elizabeth with an outstanding century. He didn’t celebrate it with much pomp though since he had witnessed two run outs with him at the crease (even though it wasn’t his fault). Throughout his career, he has turned critics into his applauders which is a splendid achievement for a 30 year old.
He probably has his eyes on the 2019 World Cup. That’s the only cricketing trophy that deludes him, having won everything else. There’s no doubt that if India are to go all the way in England, Rohit will have a huge role to play. But 2019 is still far. What’s next for Rohit Sharma? A lot. Helping India win overseas, making a permanent place in Tests, score more double hundreds, probably win another IPL? So many expectations? But then it’s Rohit and dare you expect anything lesser of him!
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