Let’s go back to a time when Rohit Sharma was not even a settled middle-order batsman in the Indian team. He was in and out of the national side on a priority basis, but cricket pundits kept singing praises about his ‘talent’. He was supposed to be the next big thing in Mumbai cricket after Sachin Tendulkar.
But Rohit couldn’t live up to expectations during his early days in international cricket. He was after all in his twenties. However, he knew from the beginning that playing as a middle-order batsman is a tough thing to do. It was a challenge, which he accepted gladly.
The Mumbai cricketer made Yuvraj Singh, another middle-order batsman, his ‘role model’ and kept referring to him as someone who took a little more time than others to make a name for himself in international cricket.
Rohit also knew that his time would come. And, it came before his critics could realise it. If Rohit learnt how to hang in there like Yuvraj, captain MS Dhoni ensured that this young batsman was here to stay.
At one point, Rohit’s lacklustre performances had started to bother India. Fortunately, some senior cricketers in the Indian team came to the defence Rohit. Gautam Gambhir was one of them. Yuvraj too showered praises on this junior.
When time came for the selectors to pick the 2011 World Cup team, someone had suggested to Rohit then that he might not be picked for the big tournament. Rohit heard him out and agreed with that person by saying: “Even I don’t think I have a chance.”
That year, India won the World Cup and after the IPL season got over, Rohit was again picked to represent India during the West Indies series and went on to win the man of the series award for the first time during the ODI series against the West Indies, away from home.
At home, he was equally successful and was hailed for his calm and composed knocks. But during the 2013 Champions Trophy, when the Indian team management decided to experiment with the opening slot, Rohit was given the task of partnering with Shikhar Dhawan. The rest, as they say, is history.
Now playing in a team where there is star player like Dhoni and Virat Kohli, Rohit has made a ‘pehchan’ of his own. He is also the captain of an IPL team and also won the title for them in 2013, which turned out to be a great year for him.
Rohit holds the distinction of scoring two double hundreds so far in ODI history. Not only that. He is also the first person to score 250 plus runs in ODI cricket. From the time Rohit has started opening the ODI innings, his batting standard has gone up in every game.
India’s first match of the tri-series against hosts Australia was one such example where Rohit paced his innings beautifully. India, eventually, failed to cross over the finishing line successfully, but Rohit was a winner.
In the post-match presser Dhoni categorically said that Rohit knows how to build an innings after getting a good start. When such words of praise come from the team leader, it should keep Rohit in good spirits. Which can only be a good thing before the World Cup.
