Rohit Sharma scored 26 off 47 balls in the 2nd ODI against England on Thursday. He looked scratchy throughout that innings, and England missed a few half-chances. Former Indian coach Abhishek Nayar acknowledged that the concern is not the rustiness in his innings, but Rohit’s inability to convert a score into a half-century.
“Conditions are important. You have to respect the conditions. In this game, the ball was seaming, doing a bit, so you expect Rohit Sharma to take time as he is not playing all formats. He also understands and will reflect. After a point, after Sam Curran’s over, it looked like he was under pressure. Other than that, I felt the tempo was fine. I am not so worried about the strike rate. But normally, when he gets to 26, he does make a 50 from there. So that is something he would be concerned about,” he said on Star Sports’ segment ‘Game Plan’.
Will Jacks picked up Rohit’s wicket. “Rohit does not get out a lot against off-spinners. But he got out because it looked like he was sort of stuck for runs. So more than skill, it’s the mind. But he is batting well, so I am not concerned,” Abhishek said.
“One thing that I have liked about him in this series and the recent past is that he is playing fearlessly. It is no longer that Virat, where he is only looking for singles. There are certain tactical nuances picked up which is very unique. He is being very intelligent with the way he wants to take bowlers down. Not necessarily by hitting shots, but also by using the crease,” he added.
“He is in a great space, and looking at his body language, you feel like there is a free-flowing, non-apologetic, non-caring sort of batter batting and that is when you are most dangerous, when there is nothing to prove. And you can see that in Virat Kohli. How many times have you seen him step out and take a fast bowler down when the ball is seaming? No. Normally, he buys his time. So he is in a great space. If he is going, he will not be concerned who he is playing against,” Nayar further said.
