Rohit Sharma alternated caution with aggression to add another dimension to his hitting and the Indian skipper is happy with the results, even if it means he doesn’t get that papa hundreds. At the end of the 2019 World Cup, Rohit had scored 27 hundreds, but in the last four years he could only add three more centuries to his tally. The captain largely believes this is because of the risky game he has been playing. “I wanted to take more risks, so my numbers are slightly different now,” Rohit told PTI during an exclusive interview. “My (ODI) hit rate (during this period) has increased, but the average has dropped slightly. This is exactly what our hitting coach (Vikram Rathour) told me: ‘You’ve scored big because of the way you hit’ all these years and in the last few years it (big runs) hasn’t happened because you take a risk,” added the skipper.
Rohit is the only player to score three double hundreds: 209 (against Australia, 2013), 264 (against Sri Lanka, 2014) and 208* (against Sri Lanka, 2017).
His last 150-plus hit came against the West Indies in Vizag in 2019.
Rohit said he had to compromise sometime later.
“My career pass rate is around 90 (89.97), but if you look at my scores and take the pass rate into account, it’s been around 105-110 for the past few years. So somewhere you had to compromise. It is not possible to have an average of 55 and a pass rate of 110.” This risky game is also a process of self-discovery, Rohit said.
“It was purely my choice. My usual percussion is still my patent, but I wanted to try something different. I’m very happy with the result.”
He had even communicated his changed approach to the team management.
“Everyone wants to hit long and score those 150s and 170s. I still want to do that, but it’s always fun to do something you haven’t done yet. It’s only going to be in your hitting skills list. Unless you do it , you won’t know.
“I know if I play risky shots I’ll get out a few times, but I haven’t. I’ve let management know this is the way I want to play.” By extension, the kind of circuits the Indian team has played test matches on at home. They weren’t exactly batting friendly, and the Indian skipper has been the team’s most consistent Test batsman in recent times.
“Look at my recent Test innings in India. I can tell you that batting in India is now much more difficult than batting abroad, especially in the last two to three years.” abroad. That’s why we didn’t talk about runs and averages of stroke units. We all agreed that we want to play on challenging pitches. I don’t want to worry about what averages we end up with.
“That’s how I think, but different players will have different thought processes, and I don’t want to change that. I’m going to play on pitches that suit our bowlers,” he stated.
He has been captain of Mumbai Indians for eleven years and has been leading the national team for almost two years now.
So do captains have an expiration date? “There is no such thing as shelf life,” he answered with conviction.
“You are given a responsibility, you achieve results and more importantly whether you are happy with the responsibility entrusted to you. Those are more important questions than sustainability.” He is a planner, but also likes to trust his instincts.
“I am someone who goes with the flow. What I feel now I would like to do without thinking about what I want to do five or six months later. I like to take things as they come, but prepare for what may it.” in store in the future.”
Topics mentioned in this article
