From Clark Kent to Superman; from a patient, watchful starter to an aggressive, swaggering opener; from “batting pro” to “batting pro-max”. The evolution of the “Rohit Sharma franchise” in this World Cup has been akin to this quintessential superhero series where the protagonist has simply gotten better with each sequel. It’s come to a point now where the final chapter has already shown itself to be his career’s most breathtaking one yet.
The moment
The mind goes back to Ahmedabad. It’s India’s third game of the World Cup, the one against Pakistan, and the opposition has posted a mere 191 runs on the board. It’s not the target that’s unnerving but the moment. A lakh-plus crowd egging you on, the roar expecting something special, an entire country praying for India to win.
In that moment, the first ball of the seventh over from Shaheen Shah Afridi to be precise, came the pull in all its glory.
Pitched short, the ball rises shoulder high and the man is ready, probably watching it like it was the size of a football coming at him. Clear. The mechanics of his batting instincts have already swung into action. The gaze is set, locked. And just when it’s that close to perfection comes the swing of that bat, timing it right on the sweet spot.
Transfixed, all you can see in those fractions of a second is the ball flying over the deep backward square leg, miles into the crowd.
Romeo and Juliet; Rohit and the pull shot. Love.
There’s everything a superhero does, but nothing better than oozing such charm. The pull shot that early evening in Ahmedabad was the kind of shot that reignited memories, years of watching this man bat and marvel.
The alter ego
He hates it when you tell him he has God’s gift. He hates it when you tell him he has that extra second more than the others to time the ball. One must watch Rohit Sharma’s face when questions like these get thrown at him.
“Kya aap ke toothpaste mein namak hai?” (referring to a popular toothpaste commercial) laughs a senior Mumbai cricketer, hilariously imitating journalists who often throw the line at Rohit, reminding him of how special he is. “You’ve got that extra second, always, to play the ball” kind of a line.
To watch Rohit frown is doubly hilarious. He can’t do enough to explain that it’s all very well to sound poetic and say things to the effect of being “God-gifted”. The reality though, he insists, is simply hard work.
Hard work – two simple words he began to acknowledge like never before until 2011 happened. That year he watched the Indian team lift the 50-over World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium on the night of April 2.
Rohit watched those moments from the stands. He’s never forgiven himself.
Heroes don’t fall on earth. They get made here.
The intent
India have been a batter short. More so after Hardik Pandya’s injury and ouster from the World Cup.
Given the conditions at play, Rohit can’t risk a Shardul, especially given the other options he has – getting Mohammed Shami in to enforce a strong five-bowler attack and getting Surya Kumar Yadav in to bolster the middle-order.
But all said, he’s still a batter short. Against the more potent attacks, that’s a risk.
Top of the order, he has to be cautious. Yet, top of the order, he has to find opportunities and take risks. He can’t leave that to a Shubman Gill. The young man is playing his first World Cup, and who better than Rohit to know what it means. It’s he who must take that initiative.
From the time Rohit began opening the innings with Shikhar Dhawan and the two went on to form a formidable pair, it’s always Shikhar who got going first.
Rohit was always the watchful one – taking his time before settling down, watching the ball begin to look like a football. Those were times when he enjoyed the comfort. It’s a comfort he must now provide to his top order.
Numbers speak
The pull shot in Ahmedabad, coming down the track to Matt Henry in Dharamshala, the flick over fine leg off Mark Wood in Lucknow have already spoken for the art and the artist.
Then there are numbers to back them. A total of 442 runs from eight innings at an average of 55.25, 50 boundaries, and 22 sixes. Those are telling numbers. Only Glenn Maxwell, post his astonishing double hundred against Afghanistan, matches up to those sixes Rohit has hit.
But the number that stands out is the Indian captain’s strike rate. At 122.77, Rohit has been the most aggressive of all top-order batters this World Cup; again, only Maxwell catching up after his last innings.
Even Quinton de Kock, despite his four centuries and South Africa’s first-innings run glut, doesn’t match up.
What these starts have actually done so far for Team India is that they’ve provided the cushion for the top middle order to take their time. While it’s true that India haven’t really been tested in a daunting chase yet, thanks to their bowlers, and except for the match against New Zealand, it’s also true that Rohit’s aggression right up the ranks has brought in a great degree of comfort.
India’s Powerplay numbers speak for them, second only to Australia’s.
The leader
There are times when batters hit top gear but bowlers lag and vice versa. There are times when both work but things just don’t go your way on the field. There are days when nothing works. And there are days when everything does.
In India’s case, as the juggernaut rolls, it’s the last of all the possibilities that are at work – where everything seems to be working.
The captain of this ship is a man in total control of his own art and commands the respect of his men by virtue of his own accomplishments.
It’s been one of India’s greatest strengths this World Cup – having a captain lead from the front. Think Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Arjuna Ranatunga, Ricky Ponting. It’s a charm.
“The thing about Rohit bhai is, you can go and talk to him whenever you want, about whatever you want. He’ll hear you out. He’ll find something funny, he’ll lighten the mood, but he’ll try and address it too,” a teammate once said about his captain.
Trust is everything. The players trust Rohit to hear them out and keep it to himself. Help them out in ways that their insecurities don’t turn into headlines every now and then.
They know they have Rohit’s ear and it’s a great space to be in as a leader.
Been there, but not quite
There’s a 2007 T20 World Cup in the cupboard. There’s a Champions Trophy in there too. Other accomplishments to talk about. What’s missing is a 50-over World Cup.
A career summation would remain incomplete for a batter of his standing – the cricketer of 259 One-Day Internationals, the accumulator of 10,554 runs, the scorer of three double centuries in the format, most runs in an innings (264), most fours and sixes in an innings (186), the second fastest to 10,000 runs.
That’s quite a bit of accomplishment. His success as T20 captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL) speaks further. His continuing effort to add Test feathers to his career cap speaks volumes about his determination.
Yet, none of this can cloud the dream he carries – that of winning a 50-over World Cup, that’ll round up everything else for him as he would eternally wish.
In 2015, he was part of a team that tried; in 2019, he was at the forefront of a team that tried; in 2023, he’s in absolute command and control of a team that’s trying.
The big picture
Twelve years ago, when a rejoicing Indian team took that lap of honour at the Wankhede Stadium, it was also time for a player – not too far away from the pitch – to make himself a promise. “Hard work”, he told himself, would have to be the key. He would rework his avatar and bounce back. The next 15 months flew by, until 2013 arrived.
A short white ball series at home versus England, to the Champions Trophy success, followed by white ball tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe, hosting Australia at home and travelling to South Africa – he hit the road running that year.
For a man who knows first-hand what it feels to not be part of a winning moment, he’s always been around since and tasted every bit of success, except the 50-over World Cup.
This ongoing tournament is his final frontier.
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