Indian ODI opener Rohit Sharma has been having a strange time of it in international cricket. There have been numerous occasions when he has looked completely in command of his game. And yet, he has failed to get the big scores. The Australia Tests were the biggest examples of the same. He came into the one-dayers with question marks hanging over his head. But then, he played one of his finest international knocks to register a hundred in the Melbourne ODI, even as India went on to lose his game. However, just when he seemed he had silenced his critics, he got himself injured.
While injuries and part and parcel of everyone's career, with Rohit the frequency of getting hurt has been a bit too worrying. He had only played the opening ODI in England last year after which he was ruled out due to injury. It took a few weeks before Rohit returned to the cricket field, and announced his comeback with that record-breaking 264. Following a disappointing Test series, Rohit roared back to form in the tri-series opener with that splendid hundred at Melbourne. Ever since though India have been unable to utilise his services as he has struggled with the hamstring.
Rohit's injury at such a critical time has put India in a massive dilemma. While they cannot risk him in the do-or-die Perth encounter against England, keeping the World Cup in mind, they would be equally desperate to get Rohit on to the field in Friday's match. If he plays, India might have one last chance to try out a different opening combination out in the middle. If Rohit doesn't play, and India fail to qualify for the final of the tri-series, it would be a double blow for the team since Rohit would then go into the World Cup being rusty, and India unsure of their combination. His absence at Perth would also mean India would be forced to have Shikhar Dhawan in the team again.
While it is true that Rohit has proved his credentials as a one-day player all over the world, he definitely has fitness issues to sort out. It may be recalled that Rohit was supposed to make his set to make his Test debut years ago, but missed out on the same having suffered a injury prior to the five-day game. There have been enough instances to prove that Rohit has a problem with his fitness. Imagine, if Rohit gets injured in the World Cup, how severely it would affect the team's anyway low morale. Clearly, Rohit needs to improve his fitness, and must put in the hard yards towards the same.
In modern day cricket, scoring runs is not the only task for a batsman. On the contrary, he must be agile on the field as well. This is one area where Rohit has struggled in comparison to some of the other youngsters in the side. India cannot afford to have a below par Rohit at the World Cup. Even if Rohit misses the Perth match on Friday, he will still get a chance to get himself back in the groove in the warm-up matches. But, practice games cannot be a true indicator of a player's fitness. He needs to get himself in shape even before the warm-ups begin.
--By A Cricket Analyst
