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Why is Rohit Sharma playing Tests for India? Look no further than Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina

sandeep

By sandeep
in Cricket Talk

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sandeep Grand Master

sandeep

Posted
Posted

No more.  Enough.

 

Enough of giving him chances on the basis of his white ball prowess.  He has proven time and again that he just does not have the temperament or technique to succeed at the test match level.  I was a huge Rohit Sharma fan from 2007 to about 2014.  I was one of those who repeatedly argued for additional chances for him because I believed that once he got it right, he could be one of the greatest.  Today was another golden, arguably undeserved opportunity for Rohit to come through for himself and the team.  And in vintage inimitable Rohit Sharma fashion, he gives his wicket away, edging a ball that could have been left alone, especially considering the circumstances.  

 

He's done as a test player.  Time to turn the page.  I don't care who gets a shot in his place.  But it is time to cut your losses and close the investment in Rohit as a Test Match cricketer.  

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maniac Grand Master

maniac

Posted
Posted (edited)

Not much I can say to defend rohit today as they say the performance speaks for itself on the same day when Dhawan kohli etc also bombed...so I will also put aside the obvious fact that wi bowling was really good early on and the pitch was difficult....anyways fact of the matter is  Rohit bombed

 

I understand the anger and frustration of indian fans....totally acceptable .

 

as I have admitted before time is ticking for rohit...no doubt and some might argue time has passed....debatable but I think your argument has gained more momentum after today.

 

having said that, one thing I find objectionable is calling him a hack, someone who doesn't work hard, no talent etc etc.

 

for arguments sake lets go with the popular notion that he is a FTB and a LOI player....let us look at his strengths and  the reason why I still think there is a ray of hope

 

Point 1 Rohit is one of the most consistent 6 hitter in LOI especially against pace- this proves great hand eye coordination which is a great gift primary for a batsman

 

now argument against this would be that likes of Afridi,Pollard etc are great 6 hitters too

 

Point taken which brings me to

 

Point 2 Rohits 6 hitting ability came in marathon innings and not some hacky slogfests....this is a guy who holds the world record for most 6s in an innings....this proves stamina,endurance and temperament to play long innings and that consistent 6 hitting ability in big innings proves all that. But these marathon innings came on flat tracks is the next argument which brings me to 

 

Point 3- these where  innings played in games where rest of the batsman didn't do much and also if you are able to hit your way to a 200 even on a flat pitch and out score others by miles in this process, you are blessed with another ability which  is picking the length and line of the ball way way early that gives you the extra time to time the ball and pick your spots to clear the boundary at will

 

Now we have covered factors like temperament,hunger for big runs, hand eye coordination, extra time or gift of timing,stamina, endurance, ability to pick line and length etc.

 

now let us look at some obvious weakness...picking the movement of the ball...now since Dravid tell me one batsman who has perfected that?

 

yes, he has performed mediocre in tests but also the pressure factor is there and this is where captain and coach have to step in.

 

playing the kind of knocks he had on the flattest of pitches too takes a lot of those factors as mentioned and most of it translates to a good test career always....so why he is not performing upto mark at the test arena is a mystery to me.

 

ask yourself today was a weak opposition....why would a proven match winner fail in such a situation? It has more to do with pressure which effects the best of us.

 

wish for his career to end at your own discretion.

 

I hope a youngster grabs his chance and performs at the level we all had hopes from rohit to perform but it is a sad waste of a once in a life time talent.

 

I still think he should get a consistent run of 6-7 more innings but today would be a wrong time to say that lol.

 

I am not a fan of an individual player but of Indian cricket and this is a heartfelt post keeping in mind the benefit of the latter.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by maniac
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sandeep Grand Master

sandeep

Posted
  • Author
Posted
8 hours ago, maniac said:

Not much I can say to defend rohit today as they say the performance speaks for itself on the same day when Dhawan kohli etc also bombed...so I will also put aside the obvious fact that wi bowling was really good early on and the pitch was difficult....anyways fact of the matter is  Rohit bombed

 

I understand the anger and frustration of indian fans....totally acceptable .

 

as I have admitted before time is ticking for rohit...no doubt and some might argue time has passed....debatable but I think your argument has gained more momentum after today.

 

having said that, one thing I find objectionable is calling him a hack, someone who doesn't work hard, no talent etc etc.

 

for arguments sake lets go with the popular notion that he is a FTB and a LOI player....let us look at his strengths and  the reason why I still think there is a ray of hope

 

Point 1 Rohit is one of the most consistent 6 hitter in LOI especially against pace- this proves great hand eye coordination which is a great gift primary for a batsman

 

now argument against this would be that likes of Afridi,Pollard etc are great 6 hitters too

 

Point taken which brings me to

 

Point 2 Rohits 6 hitting ability came in marathon innings and not some hacky slogfests....this is a guy who holds the world record for most 6s in an innings....this proves stamina,endurance and temperament to play long innings and that consistent 6 hitting ability in big innings proves all that. But these marathon innings came on flat tracks is the next argument which brings me to 

 

Point 3- these where  innings played in games where rest of the batsman didn't do much and also if you are able to hit your way to a 200 even on a flat pitch and out score others by miles in this process, you are blessed with another ability which  is picking the length and line of the ball way way early that gives you the extra time to time the ball and pick your spots to clear the boundary at will

 

Now we have covered factors like temperament,hunger for big runs, hand eye coordination, extra time or gift of timing,stamina, endurance, ability to pick line and length etc.

 

now let us look at some obvious weakness...picking the movement of the ball...now since Dravid tell me one batsman who has perfected that?

 

yes, he has performed mediocre in tests but also the pressure factor is there and this is where captain and coach have to step in.

 

playing the kind of knocks he had on the flattest of pitches too takes a lot of those factors as mentioned and most of it translates to a good test career always....so why he is not performing upto mark at the test arena is a mystery to me.

 

ask yourself today was a weak opposition....why would a proven match winner fail in such a situation? It has more to do with pressure which effects the best of us.

 

wish for his career to end at your own discretion.

 

I hope a youngster grabs his chance and performs at the level we all had hopes from rohit to perform but it is a sad waste of a once in a life time talent.

 

I still think he should get a consistent run of 6-7 more innings but today would be a wrong time to say that lol.

 

I am not a fan of an individual player but of Indian cricket and this is a heartfelt post keeping in mind the benefit of the latter.

 

 

 

 

 

Gotta say.  I admire your passion and sheer dogged mindedness on Rohit.  But you have to be a bit clear eyed.  But its one thing to be seduced by potential great rewards and another to be completely blinded by it.  

 

Look at the modes of dismissal of Dhawan, Kohli and Rohit.  Once you do that, you cannot say that hey the other 2 guys failed and he did also.  Kohli got a quality ball that was super quick and jumped up from short of a good length.  If you want to be brutally honest, yes he was technically exposed there a bit.  He was in the wrong position to play that ball given the fact that it was D1S1, ball was new and the wicket was doing a bit.  But at the end of the day, it was a very good delivery that would have troubled most international class batsmen.  

 

Dhawan got strangled down the leg-side - pure and simple execution error.  Not shot selection.  Sure, Dhawan is a bit loosey goosey with his technique and someone with better focus and tighter technique either leaves the ball or executes the shot right.  Maybe.  But you cannot say that he made a shot selection or mental error where he was playing a ball he should not be.  

 

Which brings us to the great wicket thrower.  Laat Sahib walks in at 77/3, 20 overs have been bowled.  Team is clearly in a bit of strife and needs to rebuild.  I would not be as harsh with Rohit if he got out to a quality ball or got out due to a execution error.  The reality is that he pushed at a ball that was more than a foot outside off-stump, only intending to defend it.  Not a scoring shot or even looking to rotate strike, just defend.  It is such a basic fundamental shot selection error that even a Ranji batsman should be ashamed of that.  And its the same mistake that the great wicket thrower has made so many times already.  If you are worthy of playing test match cricket, you simply do not give your wicket away in this fashion, in such a situation.   You put a price on your wicket.  You play within yourself according to the situation.  You do not go "feeling" for the ball 5 stumps away from off-stump just because the teenage debutant bowler has bowled 6-8 good balls to you and kept you quiet at the beginning of the session.  

 

I understand that given the quality of Rohit's hitting once in flow is so good that its easy to be seduced.  Heck our young captain has got seduced by it.  But batting in test matches has some pre-requisites.  You have to be able to meet those fundamental requirements.  Else the Afridis and Lance Kluseners of the world would be Test ATGs.  

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G_B_ Community Regular

G_B_

Posted
Posted (edited)

The problem is 

 

Rohit fails in test cricket and gets dropped

Rohit scores a daddy hundred in ODI/T20 cricket

Rohit gets back into the test squad

Rohit gets picked for some flimsy reason cause he is friends in dressing room

Rohit fails in test cricket and gets dropped

 

Rahane is like an inverse

 

Rahane fails in ODI/T20 cricket and is dropped

Rahane scores a fast 100 in tough conditions in test cricket

Rahane picked in odi/t20 cricket squad

Opener (mostly Shikar) sucks so Rahane gets a chance

Rahane fails in ODI/T20 cricket and is dropped

 

The only difference between Rahane and Rohit is (a) Rahane usually bats all over the place in ODIs and T20s. Ie nobody accommodates him unlike Rohit in test cricket. (b) Usually Rahane is in the playing 11 cause he replaces a player who is not playing well or there is an injury

 

Ultimately the selectors needs to stop picking Rohit for tests and Rahane for limited overs. Rohit is a very good limited overs player, Rahane is a very good test player. I am sure specialization will help their cause in the format they are best suited to. In the case of Rahane unlike Che he has a well paying IPL contract. So I dont think losing out of LOI is going to be a major financial blow. Atleast poor Che has no IPL contract and does not get paid well enough just to be a test player. Something the BCCI needs to address.

 

I would like the BCCI to sit down with Murli Rahane and Che and say look guys we know you will miss out on IPL etc. How about you concentrate just on test cricket and in return we will pay you a contract of 5 crore a year for a duration of 3/4 years. You can play for eg county cricket when IPL is on etc. 

 

You get a feeling with Rahane, he is comfortable with tests but wants to push for LOI due to the earning potential.

 

 

Edited by G_B_
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sandeep Grand Master

sandeep

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Good post comparing the cases of Rahane and Rohit.  Rahane has got 1/100th the slack and "accomodation" that Rohit has got.  But I disagree about Rahane's ODI capabilities.  Rahane has got the game to be a quality ODI opener in the Amla mould.  But has hardly got the opportunity.  He has been pushed into the #4/5 slot in ODIs where his batting style is frankly ill-suited, especially in a top-heavy lineup like ours.  Note that Rohit failed abysmally when forced to do the same, inspite of his great hitting abilities.  

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G_B_ Community Regular

G_B_

Posted
Posted

 

Quote

 

After India beat the West Indies in the third Test on Saturday, skipper Virat Kohli, in his post-match chat, refused to beat around the bush. If he had said it any clearer, it would have been something to the effect of, “If Test cricket becomes a one batsman sport then Rohit Sharma would be that batsman because he deserves to be given more chances and to hell with everyone else, thank you”.

What seemed somewhat covert is now written in stone: Rohit Sharma is now a Test mainstay even before he is a Test mainstay. Sharma's being given every chance to succeed, albeit at the cost of another player who has already come good, is not something entirely new to Indian cricket.

Well before Sharma started to flirt with the longer format, Suresh Raina and Yuvaj Singh were given the nudge. Followed by yet another nudge. And another. And another. It just didn’t work out.

Singh made his Test debut almost 13 years ago. From 2003 right up to 2012, he played Test cricket every year – adding up to 40 chances. In his second Test, Yuvraj scored his first fifty; in his third, his first century. He ended up with three tons, eleven fifties and a career average of 33.92. All his hundreds were scored in the subcontinent against Pakistan. That’s how distant Yuvi’s Test successes are. He made his Test debut three years after he started playing One-Day Internationals for India.

Raina played his first Test five years after he made his ODI debut for India. Between 2010 and 2015 – still the Dhoni years – he wangled 18 Tests. Creditable, as, in spite of N Srinivasan at the helm of world cricket, bowlers were allowed to bowl bouncers at this Chennai Super Kings' star.

Raina made a hundred on debut and a half-century in his next Test. He did not add to the hundreds, but clocked three ducks in his last three Test innings. And five in his last seven. By the time he signed off in 2015, his Test career evoked evil cackles, spawning numerous "pull" jokes. Come the Indian Premier League every year, we were reminded he was the tournament’s top scorer and had never missed a match. Then, he got married.

A gifted player

Sharma made his Test debut in 2013, almost six years after he played his first ODI. Naturally, you know of his twin hundreds against the West Indies Invitation XI. They are part of lore. Since then, Sharma has been fortunate to play a Test every year, adding up to 17 across four years. Since his Test debut in India, he has played Tests in South Africa, New Zealand, England, Australia, Sri Lanka, India again, and now in the West Indies.

His Test average is more than Raina’s 26.48, but at 32.62, it’s a shade lower than Singh’s 33.92. His batting strike rate of 52.24 is less than Raina’s 53.14 and Yuvraj’s 57.97. With two tons, he has one more than Raina, one less than Singh. The Test careers of Raina and Singh are history. Neither has been picked for the Twenty20 Internationals against the West Indies in Florida later this month.

Sharma will almost certainly play in the fourth Test, bat at five, and open India’s T20 innings against West Indies. Singh played during the Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman years – to become a Test regular, he had to outperform them. For Raina, to be a Test mainstay, he had to battle his short-ball demons.

For Sharma, neither challenge exists. If anything, the entitlement and long rope that he’s been handed could eat at him. There’s a long home season calling, and it’s been served to Sharma by none other than his captain. Some players sure are gifted.

 

http://thefield.scroll.in/814000/why-is-rohit-sharma-playing-tests-for-india-look-no-further-than-yuvraj-singh-and-suresh-raina

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Tibarn Community Regular

Tibarn

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Posted

Now is the ideal time to incorporate Rohit, since that is what Kohli wants. With 19 Asian tests, he can get a consistent run playing in the team. Everyone will see whether he is good or not by the end. 

 

I wonder if Kohli will play only 5 bowlers in India, we may not need a 5th as we generally have turning tracks, and spinners can bowl much longer spells. If Kohli includes an extra batsman, the pressure on Rohit would be eased. 

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