Team India captain Rohit Sharma has been going through a rough patch with the bat when it comes to Test cricket. Rohit has he ignominious record of having the lowest batting average by an Indian batter (to score over 600 runs) in a calendar year. Rohit is currently averaging 26.39 in 2024. The previous worst was Cheteshwar Pujara, who averaged 28.08 while scoring 702 runs in 2021.
In fact in the last 11 innings, Rohit Sharma is averaging 11.69 with 152 runs and just one fifty. This has prompted Indian cricket legend and former opener Sunil Gavaskar to say that Rohit Sharma will not wait for the selection committee to take a call on his captaincy after the end of the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Rohit has a couple of Tests to make amends in the five-match Test series at Melbourne and Sydney. Gavaskar feels Rohit could take a call on Indian captaincy in Tests depending on his performances in these games.
“I think Rohit obviously will get the opportunity to play in the next couple of matches, that’s for sure. But maybe at the end of it, if he hasn’t scored runs, my feeling is that he himself will take the call,” Gavaskar said while speaking to ABC Sport radio.
“He’s a very conscientious cricketer, he will not want to be a burden on the team. He’s a cricketer who cares very deeply for Indian cricket. So if he doesn’t score runs in the next couple of games, I think he himself will step down,” he added.
CAPTAIN ROHIT SHARMA FULL PRESS CONFERENCE . pic.twitter.com/ir9TmiDNaG
— (@jod_insane) December 18, 2024
Rohit Sharma admitted in the post-match press conference at the Gabba that he is the first to admit that his recent batting form has been below par but he continues to ‘feel good’ about his game. The third Test at the Gabba in Brisbane ended in a draw due to heavy rain on the fifth and final day on Wednesday.
Rohit, who did not play the series opener in Perth due to the birth of his second child, has managed scores of 3, 6 and 10 on the tour. “I have not batted well. There’s no harm in accepting that. But I know what’s in my mind, how I’m preparing myself. All those boxes are very much ticked. It’s just about spending as much time as possible, which I’m pretty sure I’m just there,” Rohit said at the Gabba.
“As long as my mind, my body, my feet are moving well, I’m pretty happy with how things are panning out for me. Sometimes those numbers can tell you that it’s been a while since he’s got big runs.
“But for a person like me, it’s all about how I feel in my mind, what kind of prep I’m having before each game, and how I’m feeling about myself. That’s the most important thing. And I’m feeling good about myself, to be honest. Runs are obviously not showing that, but inside it’s a different feeling,” he said.
The five-match series is currently level at 1-1 with two Tests remaining. The fourth Test will begin at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 26.
