Boria Majumdar in Cardiff
One match in, and the clamour has started again. Will Rohit Sharma play the 2027 World Cup or not? Is he still good enough, or is it all over? It is becoming a bit tiring for everyone.
When you compare Rohit with Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett, for a start, the England openers struggled far more against Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna than Rohit did. Yet, all the focus is on Rohit. If you really want to decode what happened, the truth is that Rohit did not get out to Jofra Archer or Josh Tongue. Yes, there were plays and misses, but that is the case for any batter, not just Rohit.
In fact, let me say this. He had negotiated Archer’s opening spell and even struck a boundary that was a trademark Rohit shot. It was followed by a couple of runs, and it looked as though he was getting his eye in nicely. Then came the false stroke against Sam Curran. I think Rohit himself would agree that it was a very poor shot.
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Curran is around 15 km/h slower than Archer or Tongue, and Rohit may have fancied his chances after seeing off the opening pair. He charged down the pitch and offered a simple catch to mid-off. Had Rohit taken a little more time and faced a few deliveries from Curran before attacking, things might well have worked out differently. He rushed into it and paid the price.
While it is true that it was not a good shot, it is equally true that it is plain silly to write him off after this innings. Having watched Rohit train in England over the past few days, and having seen the intensity with which he has been doing his fielding drills for hours, I have little doubt that he is gearing up for 2027. He clearly has a plan in mind and needs to be given the space to execute it. One failure should not trigger this level of chatter.
Frankly, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul did not score either. So why is the conversation centred only on Rohit? Kohli, in my opinion, has already settled the debate about his future. Shubman Gill made it very clear in the press conference that he had been discussing World Cup plans with Virat, so that debate has been put to rest once and for all.
As for Rohit, it is true that Yashasvi Jaiswal is waiting in the wings. It is also true that Jaiswal has scored two hundreds in his last three games. But Rohit, too, scored runs against Afghanistan, and he deserves an extended run in conditions such as these in England.
There is no question that performance will always be the final word in sport. It always has been and always will be. But to say Rohit is finished on the basis of one match is far too premature. For someone of his calibre, he has earned the right to fail a few times. He is far too good a player to carry on if he genuinely believes he cannot do it any more. Having watched him closely here, I’d still put my money on him delivering in Cardiff and at Lord’s. The hunger is still there, and I believe he will come good for India.
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