Ideally, Rohit and Kohli shouldn’t be drafted for the next home series even if they perform well on that Australia tour.
The world seemed ideal for Rohit Sharma and his team only three weeks ago. They had just done the unimaginable against Bangladesh in Kanpur and started as favourites to win the New Zealand series. And now, three weeks later, India are at the worst possible phase with more questions than answers.
The main question, though, remains the same. What’s next? The wounds of home series whitewash will fade after a certain period, but the loopholes, which have widened after this rubber, will be hard to conceal.
That’s because the problem lies at the top. There’s a lot of uncertainty around the senior pros, especially the captain and ex-captain. If anything, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are at the worst of their red-ball game.
Leave aside numbers; they are mediocre. Their batting seems far from imposing just by the looks of it. There’s a sense of restlessness whenever these two bat, and the confidence is at its all-time low.
Take Rohit Sharma’s latest innings, for instance. On just the third delivery of the knock, he hurriedly mistimed a pull shot, his go-to stroke, and somehow managed to clear the mid-on region. He mistimed the same shot again in the next over and wasn’t lucky enough to survive.
There’s no place for defence in his batting anymore and appetite to weave longer knocks. He has faced 20+ balls only once and has only two 20+ scores in ten attempts this home season. What made Rohit successful as a Test opener was his ability to leave the balls by knowing where his off-stump is.
It’s not that he didn’t play big shots then; he attempted them when the time was right. This can’t be a batter’s go-to shot in the longest format, surely not for openers. He has committed on the front foot early and often missed the line or tried ultra-attacking mode, which comes with caveats.
“I haven’t defended a lot in this series because I haven’t been there much to defend. I have to look at my own game and try and see what best I can do. When I go to bat, I always think about how I can put the team in the best situation of the game so sometimes when the openers go in, they set the tone,” exclaimed Rohit.
That has to do with his waning expertise, for he is no longer young enough to play those big knocks and stay longer at the crease. At 37, Rohit’s reflexes are waning, and the first thing an ageing batter loses is his trust in defence. While other batters have got out to spinners this series, Rohit has constantly succumbed to speedsters.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli’s struggles give a sense of helplessness. He has tried everything, had a bit of success, and still has not regained consistency. He does well regarding technique but has reverted to the same method again.
He is so low on confidence and his abilities that he has twice been involved in run-outs, once getting Rishabh Pant out and running himself out in the second one. He just wants to get off strike against spinners, especially left-arm spinners, for his technique is too faulty to work. Like Rohit’s ultra-attacking method, Kohli has also opted for temporary adjustments, which won’t work in the long run.
He often presses forward to a delivery without getting to the pitch of it, even after getting encouraging results with a better method. Then, Kohli chases deliveries outside the off-stump line against pacers to exacerbate his case. At times, he looks like a gone case.
His struggles against spin has also to do with the kind of tracks he has played on in home Tests. Most of the pitches he has played on have been turners, which have exposed his faulty methods significantly. He has put in hours of work, but the results have eluded.
At this point, the writing seems on the wall for both senior pros. Even if they succeed in upcoming away tours, they will remain vulnerable. Their game has too many faults to correct, especially at this phase of their careers.
That brings us to this question: Have we seen the last of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at home? The World Test Championship has tempted the team to opt for spin-friendly tracks, and if the trend continues, the returns of these two will only shrink further. You see them handle spin and get a feeling of them getting out at any moment.
Almost all non-Asian teams have quality spinners in their ranks, who would find any chink in batters’ armour. The likes of Todd Murphy, Shoaib Bashir, and Mitchell Santner have shown that within a year and a half. So, it’s not that even one opposition touring India will provide any breathing space in the coming time.
The method these two have adopted will not yield sustained success. One over-relies on hitting, and the other is stubborn enough not to change, even after doing well with better methods.
No amount of playing domestic cricket will change their games. That Bangladesh series should have served as a practice for the New Zealand rubber, given the former team also had quality spinners. That didn’t happen; nothing changed, and nothing will change until personnel changes.
Further, their age suggests another impending transition and a home series will be the ideal time to try fresh faces. Putting new players straight into alien conditions away from home would be harsh. Quality domestic players are adept at playing spin, which will also help them ease in.
That will solve at least one problem, even if it opens other ones overseas. Being dominant at home is the first rule of Test cricket. To India’s fortunes, several domestic performers are eager to get a look in on the back of marvellous records.
There’s another World Cup in 2027, so the big two should focus on that format. Their game suggests they aren’t ready to bear the burden of a 5-day format anymore. Those occasional performances will come if they stick around, but that won’t take the team anywhere.
The transition was delayed with Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane because they did well occasionally. Selectors tend to provide a longer rope in Test cricket, but they can’t overlook mediocrity after one point. Maybe this 3-0 drubbing against New Zealand was that saturation point.
Ideally, Rohit and Kohli shouldn’t be drafted for the next home series even if they perform well on that Australia tour. That ruthlessness won’t return. The next home series should see several changes, and the start should be with this bold call.
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