Boria Majumdar at Lord’s, London
This is a very difficult piece to write. The question I am asking myself is how one separates personal relationships and friendships from the journalist’s hat when it comes to a critical story. The obvious reference is Rohit Sharma. He is someone I have known for years, and someone I can legitimately claim is a friend. So, when I say something about Rohit, it is almost impossible to completely forget about that friendship and speak purely as a journalist. And yet, it has to be done, for that is my calling. When I comment on Rohit as a journalist, I need to be objective and remain conscious that my friendship should not cloud my judgement or make me biased.
As someone who has watched and covered Rohit throughout his career, I desperately wanted him to defy the odds and turn back the clock at Lord’s. I wanted him to make a difference and bat like the Rohit Sharma of old. I did not like the innings in Cardiff, felt frustrated, and hoped he would finish the series on a high and make Lord’s his own.
Little did I think that all of those wishes would come true. Little did I know that Rohit would step up against all odds. Pause for a second and think of the pressure he was under. Many had said Lord’s would be his last-ever game. Others argued that he was unjustly occupying a spot and playing on borrowed time. Still others insisted that emotion has no place in sport and that Rohit should gracefully make way. With many millions watching him, the enormity of the occasion was not lost on anyone.
We all know that sport is about performance, and performance alone. With someone as good as Yashasvi Jaiswal waiting in the wings, it is essential that Rohit performs, and does so consistently. While Ajit Agarkar and his committee are well within their rights to look beyond Rohit and opt for Jaiswal, it is entirely up to Rohit to defy the odds and prove a point.
Whichever way you choose to look at it, Lord’s was special. The cricket romantic in me wanted a Rohit special. A legend of the game trying his absolute best to push himself and do it one more time. To create his own narrative and write his own script. Against Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and the rest, it was Rohit and his bat on the 22-yard strip. But that is what sport is all about, and that is what we need to write about and report.
Emotions aside, I will write what I see. And what I saw will perhaps rank among the very best of Rohit Sharma’s innings. Simply because of the context and the stakes involved, it was genuine theatre. Only this was real, not reel. Chasing 387, Rohit brought out the very best in himself and made a statement to his fans – and to the selectors. He has done his job, and done it in the best possible way. Now, let the selectors make the call. If they are off their rocker, they will look beyond him.
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